


Requiem For Love

by ForceTrash (ProjectFreelancerTrash)



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Beauty and the Beast, Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Beast Kylo Ren, Beauty Rey, Eventual Romance, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Orphans, Series
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-08
Updated: 2016-03-05
Packaged: 2018-05-11 13:56:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 23,987
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5629000
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ProjectFreelancerTrash/pseuds/ForceTrash
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rey is an orphan that dreams of being an inventor and travelling somewhere, anywhere one day. When her friend, Poe, stumbles upon the old castle in the forest, she trades up her freedom to the Beast and Master of the castle, Kylo Ren, so that he can go free. Now, she must live her life with a Beast and get rid of her dreams of freedom. After all, no one can love a Beast with a no Light in him.</p><p>The tale as old as time. An Enchanter, disguised as an old beggar, offers a rose to a young prince, in exchange for shelter in his castle from the cold, but the prince refuses.  The Enchanter transforms him into a beast and places a spell on the castle. He gives him the enchanted rose that he had offered. The Enchanter keeps the Beast a slave to the rose. That to break the spell, the prince must learn to love another and earn their love in return before the rose's last petal falls.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue: Overture

Harsh words fought a war with the raging storm that danced outside the stone castle that stood over the dark forest. A voice run ragged with anger lept and soared like the fire warming the inside of the castle. An argument as old as time itself for this household.

Begging stemmed from a boy’s lips that were quickly dashed.

Two fiery tempers feed off each other that sidestepped and smothered the love deep within for father and son.

The dark night is pierced as the light filtered out of the open door to the courtyard guarding the aging castle. Boxes and luggages moved by servants through the doorway to the waiting carriage. The couple moving silently through the fresh snow to join together in their carriage.

A question burned in the mother’s mind but she decided to save it for when she returned. The door closed in the carriage, and to the castle. None aware of the boy that slinked out to watch the departure with a heavy heart.

Flurries bellowed through the night sky as ice chilled on the windows of arching castle nestled deep in the woods. The courtyard protecting the one being that moved through the harsh weather. Black hair whipping around the young boy’s face. Yelling and arguments still burnt freshly into his young mind. The crunch of snow accompanied him through the dying courtyard.

The plants wilted and frigid underneath the winter’s first snow. His breath sharp and clouded as he hid in the courtyard to try and escape the sound of the horses departed on the cobblestone that led to the forest.

His gloves squeezed around his arms as he curled in on himself on the ground, and pulled his legs to his heaving chest. The creaking of the gates closed in front of him as his parents leave once more haunts him. His cracking lips whispered to himself as the cold nipped at his hood. 

“The Light is all you need.” He reminded himself over and over those words his mother whispered to him earlier. With each breath, his lungs are seared by the dry cold and his eyes burn with fallen tears. His heart suffocating in that burn as well.

The loneliness punched him in the gut as he tried to breathe around it. He tried reminding himself that the house was full of servants and caretakers. He wasn’t alone and his life was better than any child could imagine. He tried reminding himself of his father’s words but they drowned him more than attempting to help him float.

“The Light is all I need.” He bit out. The words slowly sounded dead to him. An excuse wielded by his parents.

A particular burst of wind snagged his hood and ripped it off his face. His bared skin is touched by the severe cold as it forced him to look up. One light burned in the distance just past the gate where the horses had disappeared. A light the shook in the night’s air just as the one of the carriage did.

One last shred of hope kindled in his chest.

“Mother?” He whispered into his arm. His hope sparkling and catching fire with the last of his kindle he could spare. He scrambled up excitedly with the grace of a newborn deer. His feet tripping over one another as he races to the gate. His black boots leaving scuffs in the path of his parents as they had departed.

His hope that that were returning for the holiday.

The light grew brighter and closer with each passing breath. His squinted in the darkness as his hands gripped tightly to the bars of the chilled gate. The cold seeping past his leather gloves. He tilted his head in an attempt to see them.

The dull outline of a figure sharpened in his eye sight. 

His chest deflates, and anger consumed his veins so easily with his temper so ready to overwhelm him once more. The tracks of tears still fresh on his cheeks freeze in the winter chill.

An old man stumbled through the break of the forest line. A red lantern in his hand as his clings to his frail robe. His body shook violently through the weather but his kind eyes unwaveringly take on the boy’s fiery glare.

“My boy, I beg of you. I need shelter. I’ll give you something in return for you kindness.” The old man soothingly croaks as he shuffles towards the gate. His face aged and spotted. He looks frail enough for the young, scrawny boy of thirteen to break. 

_He looked weak_ , the boy notes.

A roar comes to his throat as he pushes away from the gate in hatred. His scream splitting his lip and filling his mouth with the faintest taste of blood.

“What could you possibly give me that I don’t already have?” The boy’s shattered voice bellowed as he stared at the old man in disdain. The door to the castle opens once more, allowing the light and warmth to filter out once more. A maid comes out of the doorway to call for him but he yells for her silence. She is quick to follow his order.

“I can offer you the most precious thing I own. Please, I need shelter.” The old man begs once more as he clings to his robes, and nearly curls in on his lantern.

The old man reached into his robe to pull out an exquisite rose that glowed with beauty. One that could not be found here nor in the village for months until the frost was over with. It shimmered as the old man pushed it past the gate, and peaked the boy’s interest but tears started falling once more as the boy realized what this man had offered. The Light yearned for him to calm as he spit on the ground. He easily ignored it as he stepped forward.

“You offer me a rose for a stay at _my_ castle? You filthy old man, leave. Die in the night’s air for all I care! Your rose can’t even keep you company.” He snarled. He reached to grab the rose haphazardly.

A smile graced the old man’s face as the boy’s hands wrapped around the stem. The gleeful smile unseen by the boy but the maid clearly sees it as she moved forward to warn the boy. Thorns pierced the boy’s glove and skin as he ripped the rose from the old man. The petals crushed under his cruel grip. He raised the rose up, and violently threw it on the ground to step on it.

Flecks of his blood rolled from his hands sprinkled the white snow. The first drop of blood queues the maid to fall in agony as she screamed into the night. The boy’s boot stops from crushing the rose to look at the maid in concern but the pain rolled into him as his heart feels a hand grabbing it to crush. His body freezing beneath him as he becomes unable to move.

The man walks through the gate like a ghost. A smirk gracing his mangled features. The pain rolling through the boy’s still figure feeding the old man. 

The man leaned towards the boy to feign a whisper, “Your hatred has fed you into a monster. So a monster is what you will become as destined by your family blood. Nobody could love a monster as lonely and as spoiled as you. Inside-” 

He pressed a gnarled finger to the boy’s chest and it erupted in pain that had the boy wanting to scream past his sealed teeth. It blazed and clawed on his insides as if it were trying to free itself from within him.

“and-” The man hobbled past the boy. He steps building confidence as he straightened and smoothed his walk just behind the boy to the maid blubbering on the floor as the pain choked her as well.

“out.” He sneered as he leaned towards the boy to rip his cloak off of him.

The boy’s screams filled with night as they wove together with his servants. The flames extinguished in the house as the curtains are pulled from the windows, and the furniture up turned and shattered. Sobs of anguish, and pain went unheard throughout the night by any villager or traveler.

However, a little girl, that was curled up outside in one of the village’s many alleyways, sat up in curiosity. Her gaze met the forest in terror. 

 

 _Wolves_ , she assured herself. Wolves in pain during the cold night. The cries touched her deep in her chest. A sadness racked through her as she laid back down. Her head pressed into her threadbare cloak as small tears rolled down her cheeks. She bundled herself in her thin blanket and tried desperately to ignore the shouts in the night air. The wolf must be in so much _pain_.


	2. Chapter 1: Exposition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The tale as old as time. An Enchanter, disguised as an old beggar, offers a rose to a young prince, in exchange for shelter in his castle from the cold, but the prince refuses. The Enchanter transforms him into a beast and places a spell on the castle. He gives him the enchanted rose that he had offered. The Enchanter keeps the Beast a slave to the rose. That to break the spell, the prince must learn to love another and earn their love in return before the rose's last petal falls.

Fall was crisp in the air. Conversations littered the air as villagers called their greetings and began the hustle and bustle of village life. The leaves were amidst their color transformation as they blew free from the trees and scattered onto the streets. The smell of fresh baking bread wafted throughout the air of the small village and into the small room at the orphanage. The broken window did nothing to keep the waking village away from Rey’s ears.

It didn’t matter much to her, she had risen with the sun either way. She had woken with excitement as she slipped her hand underneath her bottom bunk bed. Her fingers snatched the book about clocks and gears she had been reading until the little rebels' bedtime last night. Along with it, her fingers grasped at the pieces of metal, nuts, and bolts. Pins held her brushed messy hair out of her face so she could see clearly.

Rey was mulling over the book’s words when the town started it’s sweet song. Her ears perked up, and she debated the need to wake the little rebels surrounding her. She gets easily sidetracked by her book and continues her work on the little clock using it as a type of manual she was working on.

The smell of food from inside the house is enough to stir Rey’s stomach into pulling her mind out of her work. The bell tolls seven times right outside her window, and with each toll, Rey worries. It was almost time for breakfast and the little rebels hadn’t even gotten up yet. She nibbles on her lip as she thinks about all the ways her backside can get served on a silver platter as if they could afford one of them.

She leaps out of bed, and onto her knees. With extreme care, she starts placing the clock in repair and its pieces under her bed. A bookmark is thrown into the aging book and it soon follows the clock.

She trots out of the room and cleans up in the wash basin that they had in the shared bathroom. The rough washcloth scrubs the sleep out of her dark eyes and wakens her to the full extent. Her fingers run through her dark brown curls minimally, and she pins back just the front of her hair.  
Hastily, she maneuvers back into her shared room, changes out of her nightgown and into a white blouse accompanied with a blue ankle length skirt. Her hands grab her boots that were haphazardly thrown by the end of her bed. Quick tugs, and even quicker lacing has Rey up and ready for the day.

Her blanket is snapped in the air as Rey shakes it out with feverish quick shakes. “Little rebels, you need to get up!” She calls as she tucks in the blanket and straightens her pillow. Little groans, and feigned sleep attempts resounded around the room. Rey snorts as she reaches up to the two sharing a bed on the top bunk.

She gives them gentle shakes and a warm smile before moving on to the two other bunks squished end to end in the small room. “Come on! Madame is almost done with breakfast and if you want any breakfast before Poe’s rebels eat it all, you must clean up.” Rey warns as she pushes in the creaking chair underneath the desk.

One eye peeks out from the blanket to survey her but no other movement greets her. Rey claps her hands together and sighs with a tiny smile gracing her lips. “I guess I’ll just have to go get Poe…” She hums, placing her clasped hands underneath her chin in thought.

One head bursts up from underneath the layers of blankets to the right of Rey. “No!” The tiny voice protests gleefully. Rey smirks, “Oh yes! Don’t you make me.”

“You wouldn’t.” calls another sleepy and accusatory voice from Rey’s right. Rey turns her head to look at the little girl with a serious look that the girl knew meant she absolutely would. Fear of the handsome tickle monster shone in the little girl’s eyes.

Rey huffs with a smile and says, “I will leave this room to go get him and if there aren’t six little rebels getting washed up when I come back then I think you know the consequences.” She sings the last bit as she saunters out of the room and waits by the door. Six pairs of feet hit the floor as they all scramble out the room giggling as they race each other downstairs.

With a snort, she follows the little rebels down the stairs before taking a sharp turn into the kitchen where her caretaker was working on breakfast. Her humming filled the small kitchen as she opened up the last window of the kitchen. Her graying hair combed back in a tight bun on the back of her head as she moves with utter grace around the table. Her patched dress flowing behind her as she leans into Rey. Rey promptly greets her caretaker with a side hug and grabs the bowl of bread out of the older woman’s hands.

The woman smiles and moves on to grab the pot off the still radiating stove. She coarsely greets Rey, “Good morning, dear. Thank you for getting the little rebels up. The others are in the barn. Poe is-”

“In the barn. He told me this morning a little before the sixth toll. He wanted to clean BB and her stall. Do you want me to go get them before they start playing in the manure, Ms. Organa?” Rey responds with a smirk that the woman mimics.

“Please do, and, Rey-” Organa calls out, turning to look up at Rey from stirring her pot full of potatoes. Rey turns to look inquisitively over her shoulder at her guardian. “Tell Han that he needs to get his hands out of the manure too if he wants to eat.”

A smile graces Rey’s lips as she nods her understanding. She’s about to leave through the back door when Leia calls for her again. “Oh wait! Wait, Rey, I have something else I’m going to need you to do!”

Rey pops her head back in with her hand placed on the door frame to balance her. She raises her eyebrows at Organa who smiles gratefully and says, “I need you and Poe to go into the market and grab some butter and a loaf of bread. I think Han has a few coins for you. I’m not sure if we are going to have food for all of us without it.”

“Yes Madame.” Rey replies with a serious salute from her hand that was resting on the door. Ms. Organa turns away and continues to prep the table as little rebels starts pouring in from the bathroom. They all greet Ms. Organa with cheer despite their early morning and she makes sure to respond to each one of them with equal happiness.

Rey steps out in the brisk air of fall and relishes the crunch of leaves underneath her boots. It had gotten chilly overnight. The light wind blew through the hair to remind her that fall was in fact here. She glanced over the fencing of their backyard to see a fog settling in the forest that led out of the city. Any travelers heading out are going to have a hell of a hard time, Rey thinks as she steps over the raggedy old horse that had seen her years of childhood.

She would have to remind the little rebels Poe was looking after to pick it up on their way in. The path was a little walk from the house in case of a fire. The cobblestone path led her to their barn. Barn being a generous word to use. The worn down barn was barely even considered a hobble. It could hold the orphanage's mare, Ben Bail or lovingly nicknamed, BB but that was about it. Much to Rey’s amazement, Poe and Han, Rey’s secondary caretaker, seemed to be able to fit all the little rebels in there.

BB welcomed her before the crew saw her. The neigh startles the crew and they all looked up from what Poe was pointing out to the rebels. The chestnut warmblood horse animatedly started chirping at Rey. Rey smiled and cooed, “Good morning BB. Sleep well?”

“I did. Thank you for asking.” Poe answers with a smirk as he wipes his hands down with a towel. 

Rey snorts and says, “Time to go wash up for breakfast, rebels. Ms. Organa says extra washing up for you, Mr. Han.” Her mischievous eyes meet the older man’s eyes. The same shade of mischief could be seen reflected in them.

“Oh yeah? Well, I can show her a thing or two about that. Let’s go rebels.” Han quips, escorting the rebels out as they all scramble up off the floor of the small barn. Before Han leaves the barn, Rey rests a hand on his forearm to whisper in his ear Leia’s orders for her and Poe to go to the market. Han stiffens under her touch but nods and smiles at her.

He fumbles in his vest pocket for his coin pouch and places it in her awaiting hands. She notes the lightness of the small pouch but doesn’t comment. “That should be enough.” Han whispers to her and gives her shoulder a squeeze of assurance that felt more for him than her. They depart their separate ways. Rey heading into the barn, and Han headed into the house.

Rey tosses the pouch to Poe. “You know, I figured you were an ass but I didn’t think you were a horse too.” She teases Poe as she walks up to the ecstatic BB, and fondly strokes their nose. The pouch easily lands in Poe’s hands and he frowns. “What was that all about?” He questions as he tucks the pouch away.

Rey hums, “I asked this lovely horse a question. You answered. Simple really.”

Poe rolls his eyes, and nudges her with his elbow. “You know what I am talking about, Rey.” He chides with a scoff.

Rey chortles and pats BB before stepping forward to whisper to Poe with absolute seriousness. “You felt the coin pouch. It’s light. Madame Organa is worried that we won’t even have enough food for lunch. We need to go get some, and I doubt that pouch is enough to get us a loaf of bread and butter.” She looks into his eyes, her hand squeezing his arm, and telling him all he needed to hear.

Poe shrugs it off, and chuckles. Rey’s sure that if he could step back he would but the barn didn’t give him much room to. “We’ll be fine. We’ve been low on coins before, they always come through. If anything, Han can always just go travelling to meet the merchant that handles his goods.” Poe tells her with ease.

Rey nibbles on her lip. Han was getting older, and him travelling would just leave Rey worried sick no matter how many times Han tells her not to. If he got hurt, they wouldn’t have food. Rey didn’t want to return to her scavenging days. Pictures of shifting through garbage, and fighting with the rats flit through her head. They are accompanied by the sounds of the wind and begging for food from the head merchant in the city.

Poe sees her worry, and reverse their roles. This time he places his arms around her to ease her worry. “Hey, don’t worry about it. They aren’t going to lie to us. They never have and never will. Now, let’s go get some food before the little rebels start complaining.” He comforts her, swatting her back, and grabbing his bag from the hook by BB.

Rey takes a deep breath and smirks. Her hand rest happily on to BB’s mane. “We could always take the fast way.” She purrs happily at the thought of riding BB. A shiver crawls down her back just at the thought of the wind going through her hair. The speed the horse could go had Rey high on adrenaline every time. It was a love that Rey and Poe shared although Poe didn’t get as many dirty looks about it like Rey did.

The dirty looks happened either way.

It happened when the villagers considered their existence crazy. The whole orphanage being considered foolish. Mr. Han and Madame Organa being the most absurd of all for wasting money on keeping the orphanage alive and running. For nearly fifteen years of her life, they accepted the dirty looks and whispers of foolish when they appeared out the blue to take her and Poe in. They took care of the two and added any other kids that needed a roof over their heads, and food in their bellies over the years.

Poe clucked his tongue to snap Rey out of the reverie, and chastised her as he slapped her hand away from BB. BB snorts her disappointment at the stop of Rey’s touches. Poe snaps at BB, “Don’t you turn on me too.”

He saunters out of the barn and tells Rey, “You know we can’t. The market is full, and last time we did, you nearly caused Madame a fainting spell.”

Rey pouts, and turns to blow a kiss to BB. She moves in place in response with a toss of her mane as she watched Rey run to catch up with Poe. “I didn’t know that my skirt would fly like that!” She protests as they make their way down the path.

They walk around the side of the house and leave through the gate. “Of course you didn’t, and I didn’t know snow was cold.” Poe teases as he gestures for Rey to take the lead on the busy roads. Rey sticks her tongue out at him as she walks past him to get her basket from the front of the house. She loops her arm through the handle and tugs Poe into the bustling crowd.

The merchants were busy in the morning chill. They call their greetings to Poe and Ray in hopes to entice them into buying their wares. Rey and Poe good naturally respond to the greetings and jabs at buying things for each other. “He's like my brother.” “She’s like _my_ brother.” An elbow finds its way to Poe’s gut while a glare meets his pained and amused eyes.

Amongst the sea of people, Rey and Poe manage to swim their way to the baker's shop. The scent wasn't hard to follow even if they did know this square like the back of their hands.  
Rey greeted the man in his native language. Poe let her haggle as best as she could which was really a talent. The baker usually loved the skill and game of it but today he was having none of their usual banter as far as Poe could tell. If it got bad, he could coax her to leave but until then he let Rey squabble as he examined the iced cakes that were displayed. He was tempted to stick his finger in the cake for a little taste when Rey cleared her throat next to him, and gestured for the pouch. His questioning eyes were ignored as she catches the pouch and pays the baker.

“That was fast. What happened?” He asks as he holds the door open for her. She grunts in response and invests her time into wrapping the bread perfectly in her basket rather than replying to him. He grabs her arm before she could bolt off to get butter.

“What happened? You are usually better than that.” Poe demands soothingly, turning Rey to look at him. She huffs, and says, “He refused. Says I am getting too old to haggle with him now. He told me to get married and then come back.”

Poe eyes widened. He turns on his heel to head back into the bakery but Rey stops him with a fist full of his vest. “No. It’s not worth it.” She tells him as she tugs him of the baker’s steps and into the crowd.

“It’s rude!” Poe protests over the crowd’s noise. Rey nods her agreement. “I know.” She sings to him. “He was talking about me.” Her eyes hold a smile in them that let Poe know she wasn’t actually completely offended.

Poe snorts and rolls his eyes at her antics. He deflates and shakes off her assisting hand. “Yeah, but we are going to a different bakery next time, ok?” He remedies, glancing back at the bakery.  
Rey nods, and shoves aside the disappointment that they had been going to that bakery since they were kids. “It cost more than it usually did. We may not have enough money for butter. Should we get potatoes instead? That usually fills the little rebels’ bellies.” Rey confesses, tapping Poe on the shoulder to hand him the pouch. He takes it and places it in his bag as he thinks.

“That may be a better idea. They are closer to home too, so we wouldn’t have to carry them that far.” Poe says, wading his way towards the farmer that sold potatoes. Rey grasps the hem of Poe’s shirt to make sure she doesn’t lose him in the crowd.

Her hold on him tightens when a thunderous crack had everyone in the square ducking and covering their ears. Poe instantly wrapped his arms around Rey and ducked over her as her calculating gaze swept the square to see the problem. Her eyes met the tall figure of the town hunter, Vince.

The man who had been asking Rey’s hand in marriage for nearly two years now obviously had to be the obnoxious problem this morning. He was tall, big, hairy, and supposedly handsome. He also was everything Rey could hate about the world and more. He kept trying to coax her away from riding, from reading, and from tinkering. It made her sick to think that he wanted marriage from her. Especially considering he’d repeatedly said that he wanted children from her. A shiver shuddered down her back at the thought.

The shrill shriek of a bird in pain filled the silence of the square as he lowers his rifle from the sky. She huffs and stands as the crowd starts to hesitantly mingle again. His grin is wide and irking as his loyal footman brings him the lifeless corpse of the bird he had shot down.

Rey felt sickened just looking at him. She nearly thought she would bend over yack when his dark eyes locked with hers. Poe instantly pulls her away and towards the direction of the potato booth but it was too late. Rey groaned when she heard Vince’s voice boomed out to her from across the crowd.

“Just keeping moving.” Poe whispers to her as he puts her in front of him.

Vince starts shoving people out of the way from his stride to get to Rey. He pays no attention to the waitress from the local inn, or the three bimbos that seem to follow him everywhere. The poor girls were completely ignored as he barreled past them as he chucked the disgusting bird at his footman.

She turns to Poe with wide eyes as she whispers to him to just get the potatoes already. “Hurry!” She hisses as him. He nods rapidly as he turns to the farmer and to get enough potatoes for lunch and dinner for their little base. They quickly complete their purchase. Rey uncovers her basket and shakes her hand to get Poe to hurry up. At this point she didn’t care if the bread was crushed by the potatoes, she wanted to leave and Vince was getting too close for comfort. Two towns over would be too close for comfort.

Rey seriously thought they would be able to get away in time when Poe dumped the potatoes in her basket but they turned to leave only to bump right into Vince. Rey couldn’t help the giant groan that left her mouth. Poe had at least tried to have a smile on his face but when he heard Rey’s mile long groan, he instantly dropped the facade.

“Rey, you wouldn’t be trying to ignore me now would you?” Vince purrs to her. His hand reaching out to touch the curls by the side of her face. She easily dodges his hand and sneers at him. “Of course I was.” Rey snaps, her mind thinking about how badly her basket could be used to beat him senseless.

“A girl as beautiful as yourself shouldn’t make such ugly faces. It’s unbecoming of you.” Vince responds coolly, a smile creeping on his face. His giant hand dropping to her shoulder before she could maneuver out of her way.

“I could think of things uglier.” Rey viciously says, staring intently at his face. Her arms crossing as she shrugs his hold off of her shoulder. Poe’s face instantly screws up in an attempt to hide his laughter.

Vince lets the comment go to grin at her and throw his arm over her shoulder as he pulls her close. He leans in close to place his hand underneath her chin so she would look at him. “Run away with me, and marry me. Think of all the beautiful boys we could have.” He tells her.  
A snarl leaves her mouth as he leans close to kiss her. She twirls out of his grasp and kicks the back of his knee. He loses his balance as his knee slams into the ground and he falls forward into the potato stall.

Poe stares at his adopted sister in awe as she yells, “Consider that my rejection, again!”

Rey grabs Poe’s hand and yanks him into the crowd before Vince can recover. Apparently, the chicken stall took a hit as well. Poe chortles as he looks back from running behind Rey. “I can see why feathers are in this time of year!” Poe calls out to Rey.

Laughter fills his ears as she runs all the way home with a smile on her face. They lean against the wall of the house and bend over trying to catch their breath in silence. They glance up at each other after a few moments and burst out laughing. Poe holds his stomach as he tries to catch his breath again but Rey is crying tears from laughing so hard and it’s making it hard for him to catch his breath.

“Whenever you two are done playing about can you bring in the food?” Ms. Organa calls from inside the house. They freeze in their laughter, looks of horror on their faces before they burst began chuckling again as they try to rush into the kitchen together.

Rey places her basket on the counter of the kitchen and unwraps the loaf of bread to hand to Ms. Organa, who was getting up from the table of little rebels. “That’s it? Two coins bought more than that last time?” Ms. Organa questions as she glances in Rey’s basket.

“The prices went up. Sorry I couldn’t haggle them down. The butter did too. It would be cheaper to either get a cow, or buy potatoes. You can see the solution we picked.” Rey answers, pulling out the bread knife to hand to Ms. Organa.

A sigh escapes her caretaker and she nods, “That’s fine, Rey.”

Rey worries at her lip again. “Is there anything I can help you with?” She asks carefully. Her caretaker shakes her head thoughtfully.

Leia answers, “No, but I am going to have to get Poe to do something for me. If you want to make him a basket for his travels with whatever we have left after breakfast, then you can but after you finish eating. Now, go eat. There is a plate on the table that is waiting for you.”

With a wave of her hand as a dismissal, Rey nods and follows her orders. She takes a seat between two of the little rebels. They varied in age but Rey helped them eat nonetheless. She pours them drinks and makes sure they eat all their food on their plates as Poe does the same for his side of the table. Han silently watches over them as he eats his own portion that Rey noted was smaller than their own.

She didn’t bother asking but Han could see from her gaze that she knew. “So, how was the market trip?” He asked instead of answering her quizzical expression.

Poe snorts in laughter as he sips from his drink to avoid answering for Rey. Rey rolls her eyes, and sets her fork down. “Vince was there.” She shortly answers with a scowl of disgust. Some of the rebels squeal in disgust as well.

Han and Poe laugh as Leia shakes her head in disbelief. “That boy is an idiot. He doesn’t have an ounce of sense in him. Just darkness.” Leia responds with a frown.

“Tell me about it. He keeps asking me for my hand in marriage, as if I would ever say yes to that pig!” Rey humphs, sipping from her drink. Some of the little rebels make snorting noise through their noses causing Rey to laugh. Leia scolds them, and they immediately behave but sneak smiling glances at Rey. They continue to eat in a content silence when they finally settle down. Rey catches Leia staring at Han with an intent look in her eyes. Han shakes his head and the argument they are silently having continues. Rey entertains herself in watching them struggle back and forth with whatever Leia is trying to Han to do.

Finally, Leia speaks up instead of Han much to Han’s despair. “Poe? I have something I am going to need you to do for Han and I.” She starts off, wiping her face with a napkin. Poe looks up at Rey, and shifts his eyes to Leia.

He sets down his fork, and replies, “Of course. What do you need, Madame Organa?”

“I need you to pack up BB, and travel for us. Han would love to but he is getting older, and it worries me to have him out there. I would have you travel with him but BB can only do so much. Besides, BB is more your horse than anybody else’s.” Leia explains, folding her hands into her lap. Han tries to protest but she shushes him.

Poe’s eyes widen, and he nods at the offer. “Of course! Anything for you, Madame Organa. Where do you need me to go?” He excitedly asks.

“To the next town over, Jakku. It shouldn’t take long. You should be back tomorrow morning the latest. You will meet an old friend of mine, Lor San Tekka. Just tell him I sent you and you should be fine.” Leia informs him before taking another bite of bread.

Poe continues to nod at her every word but tries to stifle his excitement for the trip. Rey smiles at him, but can’t help feeling disappointed that she couldn’t go at all. She needed to stay here anyways, she told herself.

On that note, Rey stands up abruptly and starts to pick up plates from any little one that was done with their food. She takes them to the wash bin and dismisses them to go play in the backyard. She warns the older ones to do their school work if they wanted to go play and they trudge upstairs obediently to get it done.

Poe gets up from his seat and grabs his fair share of plates as well. He manages to move around in the small kitchen now that most of the rebels had moved into the yard or upstairs. He brings them to the dirty side of the wash bin, and helps Rey by grabbing a towel to dry the plates.  
He tries hard to contain himself but Rey knows he wants to talk about this new exciting trip for himself. She saves him the trouble of trying to preserve her feelings, and murmurs, “This is exciting, is it? BB will love the walk with her favorite human.”

A grin stretches across her face when Poe instantly grabs her offering and runs with it. “I know, right? BB will love this! Jakku is small and run down but it’s better than nowhere.” He says, cruising right through to continue on. Rey lets him speak about her old village town, and she doesn’t bother reminding him that she knows all about it.

His enthusiasm had her happy for him as she cleaned out her basket for Poe. He leans against the counter as contemplates to her all the possibilities that could happen on the trip. With every happy thing, Rey would teasingly counter with a negative. “I could meet someone.” Poe says in awe.

“Yeah, a bandit that wants to mug you for your slice of bread.” Rey says with a smirk. Her hands seal the basket of food with a towel and she hands it to him. He scrunches his nose at her but plucks the basket out of her hands.

“No, it will be for my cheese. Silly girl.” He chastises seriously before mimicking her smirk. She taps his stomach in acknowledgement as she lets out a small laugh. “Of course, what was I thinking?” She retorts, grabbing his bag from the coat stand.

He opens the front door and waits for Rey to leave first. Han is waiting with a saddled BB in the front yard. BB greets them with a nice chirp that has Rey cooing at her and taking the reins from Han. Poe rolls his eyes and takes his bag from Rey when she hits him with it to take it so she can have another hand to stroke BB with.

“Yes, _I_ am the favorite one apparently.” Poe dryly responds. Rey’s wide grin tells him all he needs to know as she pats BB. Leia comes out the front door to interrupt Poe from telling her exactly what he thought.

She walks up to Poe and touches his face gently. “Stay safe, and keep to the road. Don’t go wondering, ok?” She requests with an undertone of worry.

“Yes Madame.” He responds immediately with a small salute.

He turns to Rey, and she smiles up at him. “Same thing she said.” Rey says. Poe returns her smile and strolls to BB. He mounts BB with an ease that came from years of riding. It gave Rey a pang of longing to ride again but she ignored it to wave Poe off. She’s tempted to tell him to be careful but she knew he would just take it with a pinch of salt.

The three stood and watched him depart into the forest line that connected Jakku and their village. Rey glances at Leia and Han to see them embracing. “He’ll be fine.” Han whispers to Leia. She nods, and lets out a deep breathe before ending the embrace to head inside.

Rey has the question at her lips, but Han responds, “She’s just worried as she always does.”  
Rey closes her mouth and nods her understanding. Han escorts her back into the house and Rey is quick to get herself busy with the little rebels. Rey chases them around the yard, and attempts to pick up the worn toys from the backyard but the rebels are adamant in playing with every single one of them.

She eventually gives up and immerses herself in helping the older ones with their school work. The work coming naturally to herself as she enjoys seeping into the knowledge of mathematics and science. The poor kids try so hard to impress Rey with their knowledge. She is quick to praise them on what they do right but firmly instructs them when they are wrong.

She leaves them when they finish their work to go help Leia with lunch. It’s a rinse and repeat after lunch to help wrangle the kids together like every other night. Rey offers to read them a story if they all go wash up for the impending dinner to come. While they washed up, Rey realized that Han and Leia weren’t serving themselves.

It’s a second hand reaction to groan and feign pain in her stomach. She assures them that there is no way she could eat since her stomach hurt so much. Leia worries over her, and makes her a cup of tea for her stomach. Rey nurses the cup of tea as the little rebels finally return from the washroom to eat dinner. Leia tries to tell the little rebels that Rey is in too much pain to read them to sleep but Rey convinces her that she can power through for the children.

They all curl up against her or the blankets that they litter on the bedroom floor as they listen with rapt attention to Rey’s story about a prince in disguise, and a princess in need of an adventure. The rebels learned long ago to stop interrupting Rey with questions on what’s going to happen next because it just meant less time for the actual story and to threats that she wouldn’t finish.

When Leia walks into tell Rey that her and Han are going to sleep, Rey nods and smiles at the kids. That meant extra time for her to read the story. With another two chapters under her belt, Rey finally helps the children to bed. She carries a few of them to their beds that couldn’t quite keep their eyes awake during story time. She blows out the oil lamps, and tugs off her boots.

She is tugging off her skirt when she hears the sound of hooves hitting ground in the silent night and familiar chirps. She opens her window and nearly has a heart attack when she sees BB trotting swiftly into the yard. “BB.” She hisses.

The mare glances up at her and tosses her mane. _Come here_ , the horse huffs at her. Rey quickly grabs a pair of tan riding pants from her drawer. She runs barefoot out of her room as quietly as possible while attempting to pull her pants on. As she patters down the stairs and out the door as she ties her pants on. “What’s wrong, BB? Where’s Poe?” She demands from the horse.

She simply gallops in place in the general direction of the forest. Rey’s eyes note the claw marks in the saddle and bags. A harsh breath leaves her mouth as she jumps onto the saddle without another thought. “Let’s go, BB.” She whispers to the mare as her bare feet taps her sides.

She’s barely on the horse before BB is launching into the forest completely off the path. She knew where they needed to go and the horse didn’t feel like wasting time with the path. Rey’s heartbeat was almost deafening her ears as it seemed to pound out of her chest. Her panting breath is the only thing she can comprehend at this moment. The cold fogs her breath but she ignores it even as it creeps into her body.

Worry sears her as she keeps close to BB to keep the ride as fast as possible. Her fingers abandoning the reins since she hadn’t had the time to grab them before BB bolted off. They are threaded deep in BB’s mane as she tries to make sense of where they are going. They are vaulting over fallen branches, and dodging the dense section of the trees. All the pathways making it hard for Rey to keep track of their path back, or their destination but she doesn’t miss it when they start descending on it.

Her eyes see it in the distance when the moon light reflects across it. The sharp lines of towers that seem to stretch into the sky. Slowly the tree line recedes and rusting gates can be seen protecting a large, intimidating castle that towered over Rey and BB.

Rey pulls BB to a halt in an attempt not to pulverise them on the gates in BB’s hurry. BB taps around in worry, and fear at being in front of this castle. Rey flings herself off of BB, and settles herself on the cold ground. BB chirps at her in concern when she pushes the opened gate further. It creaks under her touch but she easily ignores it as she steps into the blooming courtyard.

Flowers grew in abundance in the courtyard. They all looked untamed, and unkempt but gorgeous in the growth against the walls of the castle and courtyard floor. Rey’s fingers itch to touch them but she refocuses on the mission. BB brought her here for a reason and the gate was already opened. Poe must be here. Something must have gone wrong.

She walks down the cobblestone path. A sharp pain punctures her bare foot as she steps on the stairs. She grunts in pain and looks at her foot. A small thorn had nicked her foot but hadn’t stuck. She set her foot down somewhere else and makes sure to be wary of the thorns growing in the pathway.

The doors to the castle stood wide open as they greet Rey into the main hall of the house. She cautiously makes her way into the room. The grand entrance is vaulted and gracefully aging but destroyed beyond use. The fireplace sat unused for years as far as Rey’s eyes could detect. Broken pieces of chairs and couches littered the ground. Rey was careful to sidestep them to avoid hurting herself again.

On examination of the floor, Rey sees booted footprints on the floor. She is happy for a split second before she notes animal like prints following just behind what she assumed was Poe’s footprints. With her safety thrown out the window, she sprints to follow the footprints.

They lead her up the grand staircase that wound up to the second floor. She follows them down a dark hall, and outside a swing doorway but they stop there. The dust on the ground actually is wiped clean here. Rey stares at the ground and tries to connect the dots when she see the animals footprints had stopped a good few feet away from Poe’s. They were elongated as if…  
“As if they had jumped.” Rey whispers to herself, pushing through the swing door only to have the breath knocked out of her as Poe comes barreling through the door. His face is covered in sweat and fear. His coat was torn at the hem, and a bit of blood lingered on the rip but he seemed unharmed.

The fear in his face is quickly replaced with confusion when he tumbles and sees Rey’s face underneath him. “Rey? You aren’t suppose to be here. No! This isn’t good. Come on. Get up!” He mutters in fear as he scrambles up with one hand and uses the same hand to pull Rey up. His other hand being preoccupied underneath his jacket.

“What? Why? What’s happening, Poe?” Rey demands as she runs down the hallway with Poe gripping her hand so tightly it was verging on painful. Poe almost doesn’t bother replying to Rey as he nearly shoves her down the stairs to get her out faster. “Faster, faster. We gotta leave Rey.” Poe answers deliriously.

“He’s coming after us!” A voice that’s not Rey’s or Poe’s replies to her. The voice is coming from Poe’s jacket, Rey realizes. Rey’s eyes widen as she feels like she’s slipped into a dream.

Rey nearly starts screaming at Poe to tell her what’s wrong when the doors to leave slam shut seemingly on their own accord. Poe yells in frustration and panic as he stops and contemplates another exit. He spins on his heel when his hand is suddenly empty of Rey’s. She feels herself tossed back not far from him by a tall figure donned in a black cloak.

Rey tries to see the figure better as she struggles to regain her breath from running and then being thrown into the dirty ground. The figure’s hood effectively cuts off any ability to see them clearly but it seems to be having no issues looking at her. It’s head tilts as it examines her. Rey does her best to hold its gaze but she doesn’t even know where its eyes are to begin with.

There’s a beat of silence before Poe is saying, “Are you going to talk? Threaten me? That’s fine, just let her go.”

Rey’s gaze snaps to Poe. The creature seems to do so as well but slower. “Hell no. Who ever you are, we are both leaving, and never coming back.” Rey snaps at them both. She scrambles up to her feet. A growl seems to emit from the creature at her movements but doesn’t she halt at them. Poe flinches at the sound but holds strong when he sees the creature holding still.

Rey stares at the creature challengingly and a silence occurs between the two. Finally, a deep, rumbling voice speaks underneath the hood, “Your thief intends to steal from me just as his master has done before him. He will serve out his punishment by living here. Unless, you want to take his place instead.”

Her gaze shifts from the beast to Poe’s. He doesn’t look guilty, but he also doesn’t look as confused as Rey did right now. He looks ready to speak, and can’t contain himself when he spits out, “He killed Lor Sans Tekka.”

Rey’s eyes widen at the knowledge, and she turns to look at the hooded creature. She clears her throat, takes a deep breath, and replies to the creature, “I don’t negotiate with monsters.”

Another beat of silence has Rey holding her breath and Poe kicking himself that he couldn’t tell her to be quiet. When the creature finally moves, Poe takes a deep breath, thinking that the creature was going to hurt Rey. Instead, his hands reach up to his thick hood and pulls it down.

Rey is speechless for the first time in her life. Red, calculating eyes meet hers as the Beast gauges her reaction. His clawed hands fall to his sides, and lay tensed in fists. His black curls tumble out of the hood and rest lightly on his shoulders. His pale face is more human than Rey could possibly believe. His face was calm, and his lips were full. His nose seemed a little big for his face but it made him all the more human. He was a Beast and not a monster.

His crimson eyes should’ve been the only thing to catch Rey off guard but it was the boyish features that truly caught her off guard. Someone who could growl, and demand in such a deep voice. Someone who could easily grip her by the waist and toss her clean onto the ground without even really trying. Someone who looked like he was lost.

Rey had made up her mind. Poe was going to be a gifted rider, inventor, father, husband, or whatever. He was going to have a future that Rey knew she couldn’t quite have even if she wasn’t in a situation to choose.

Rey opens her mouth, and for a second the Beast looks unsure, before she answers, “I’m taking his place.”

That seems to seal the deal. Rey nearly screams when suddenly the furniture that is still whole comes to life. Poe starts yelling, “No! Rey, you can’t do this! You can’t keep her here!”

Rey stands horrified as a coat stand easily picks Poe up. She rips her eyes away from the scene in front of her to look at the Beast. His clawed hands reach into the air and swipe harmlessly. The doors to the castle open at his command. Poe’s screams get louder with each passing step and realization that Rey was actually going through with this. The coat stand throws him outside of the gates and marches back inside.

With another sweep of his hand, both the gates and the doors close effectively trapping Poe outside with no chances of getting back in now that the Beast was aware of his presence. Rey stands stiffly during this occurrence, refusing to look at Poe in fear that she might cry.

Instead, she focused on the red eyes of the man who would be her prison guard for the rest of her life. The eyes seemed to burn volatilely but they didn’t leave her face. She felt his gaze piercing into her very soul, and something in Rey itches to let her know he was impressed with ability to keep his gaze. This towering Beast who stood over her now controlled her fate.


	3. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dinner is served.

Silence is going to be Rey’s life from now on, she is sure of it. That and these smoldering red eyes that are leeching every single detail off of Rey’s body. Rey is no stranger to men and wandering eyes especially with a pig like Vince looming over her shoulder just for the view of her breasts. However, this gaze that had her fighting the heat in her cheeks is completely different. She holds completely still under this inspection, almost as if she can’t move under his intense gaze.

His eyes brush over her slowly in an attempt to learn every curve of her body, and wrinkle in her clothes. Tracking her posture as she held herself up as tall as she could next to the Beast that was easily a foot taller than her stature. Rey prides herself in her height but this Beast standing far more than an arm’s length away had her looking up to keep eye contact with him even if his were drifting to take in her stiff body.

Curiosity tingles in the back of her mind that feels so foreign to her. Needling at her like it was a sudden intrusion, a shiver racking through her body to try and dislodge it. His eyes zero in on her shiver and the curiosity spikes.

The Beast opens his mouth, sharp canines gleaming dangerously from his mouth. That was something Rey hadn't quite noticed before. He attempts to says something but falls short when a growl slips past. Agitation bips into her mind briefly before diluting away in her own emotions. He closes his mouth to cough and clear his throat. Finally, his gruff words rumble out of his mouth, “Are you comfortable?”

Rey doesn't answer. Her bare feet were slowly losing feeling on the chilled stone brick of the castle floor. Her stomach is empty and protesting. Her eyes are threatening to spill tears. Her clothes were dirty from being thrown around. Of course she isn't comfortable.

The moment she connects that in herself, he seems to get it. He replaces his hood, and the shadow conceals his face once more. He ghosts past her in silence, making sure to keep his distance, and moves up the first few steps of stairs. His steps falter and stop when Rey irritably demands, “Where are you going?”

He glances at her past the fabric of his hood. Underneath Rey’s discomfort and irritation, she senses amusement. That wasn’t hers. Aggravation blooms in her chest as she listen to the Beast’s amused tone reply, “To your room.”

The aggravation drops into one of confusion. “Not to the dungeons?” She questions, turning to fully acknowledge him. Her hands unclenching as her body hesitates to relax in relief. She didn’t want to get her hopes up. His eyes flit away blankly as boredom seeps into the back of Rey’s mind.

“No.” He sighs. He grabs the edge of his cloak and lets it billow behind his figure as he continues his ascent up the steps. Footsteps of Rey scrambling have him sure that she is following him.  
“Why?” She curiously asks, keeping just out of his cloak’s range. Emotions flit back and forth in the back of Rey’s mind. As quickly as shuffling a deck of cards the emotion flit from thoughtful, disregarding, and lastly landing on amusement once again.

A rumble comes from the Beast’s chest that has Rey taking another step back from the measured distance she kept from him. Hurt flits through her mind when the rumble abruptly stops. A stiff question escapes the Beast’s lips, “Do you want to sleep in the dungeons?”

They breach the second floor, and the Beast pauses in his movements. Rey notices nearly too late. She’s on her toes balancing just out of the cloak’s protecting circle. She rocks back on her heels and looks up at the Beast who was pretending he hadn’t seen her silly actions. Amusement thrums through her once more, and Rey gets the sense that he absolutely did see her nearly tumble into him.

That’s when it clicks. It is his amusement that she feels. His hurt that pulses through her. She’s feeling his emotions. “I’m your prisoner.” She whispers in realization.

The Beast turns to address her. Rey is startled into looking up at the Beast. His red eyes hid the slight curve of his pupils that made him a little more animalistic. He stares down at her blankly with no emotion for her to decipher on his face no matter how much her eyes wanders his face. “You are my guest.” He corrects easily. 

“Then why are you in my head?” Rey means to snarl at him but it comes out calmly. A spike of anger spawns in the back of her head and she knows it’s his because she can see it in his eyes as well. He doesn't try to deny what shouldn’t be humanly possible. He doesn't try to make her believe she's crazy for feeling these foreign emotions.

Rey’s eyebrows raise when his jaw clenches and he turns away from accusing eyes. He seems to have no words for her. Rey narrows her eyes and is about to ask another question when he tautly interrupts her. “It helps me to see what I need to know.”

Anger flares in Rey that was truly her own. The Beast clenches his fist, and Rey figures out what he means. The connection went both ways and he could feel her anger. “Magic, or not, you have no right to be in my mind.” She says, crossing her arms over her chest.

The Beast’s eyes flit to watch her movements before looking her in the eyes. She stubbornly stares him down. His eyes narrow minutely as he watches her. Ever so slowly, she feels him leave her mind and taking his reluctance with him.

Without the aid of her mind, Rey notices he seems to become a little awkward and unsure of himself. His shoulders droop only slightly but she definitely notices the difference. When he steps out to go to the east side of the castle, she realizes he’s become stiff in an attempt to not touch her as if he didn’t quite know where her body was anymore.

They walk in silence down the dark hallway that is illuminated by giant windows letting in the moon’s light. The dusty curtains conceal some of the light but it’s enough for Rey to walk down the hallway without hurting her feet or stepping on the broken tiles littering the floor throughout the hall. The Beast doesn’t bother to check on her again, purposefully giving Rey the ability to openly gape at the decor.

Other than being extremely dusty, the curtains are riddled in rips from the Beast’s claws. Paintings hung at odd angles but all of them would be awe-striking if given the proper cleaning. Rey eyes the suits of armor with a near childish glee to touch them. If only the little rebels could see them, they were _just_ like the ones from the stories she told them.

The wallpaper is hard to depict with the grime coating it for who knows how long. Rey blinks as her thoughts turn to the Beast. He knew how long this castle had been in disarray. He owns this castle. He probably saw this castle before the grim and tears. His eyes probably saw the hallways lit up, and scrubbed to perfection. There had to be a before, right? There was no way he was born like he was.

Her eyes land on his back and before she knows it, her thoughts are drifting back to what he looked like under the cloak. He had to be human but his eyes gave him away as something much more. His eyes glowed and flickered as if fire lit their depths, making him appear unstable. His hands ended in sharp claws and aren’t something she can easily forget. The Beast’s nails were sharpened like a feline’s, they were probably what had caused much of the disrepair to the curtains and wallpaper to be so precise and clean.

The gaze of her eyes flit off the Beast’s back as she tries to not dwell on what the claws could do to human flesh. Poe was unharmed when the Beast had been a rage earlier. Well, Rey contemplates, the Beast couldn’t really have been in such a frenzy if his touch had been gentle with her. It felt like his touch when he wrapped his arm around her waist had ignited the emotional bond between the two of them.

Even when he flung her, it had lingered and she felt no true fury from him, just annoyance. Irritation seemed to be his favorite emotion to convey with how often she’d felt it when they’d been connected. His anger when she’d felt it earlier had been toxic. It was a kind of fury she knew could lead to the destruction of the castle.

The rage had been but a brief touch, however. Comparative to the emotions that she had felt through the connection before it had been severed, the anger was nothing she couldn’t handle. The curiosity, hurt, and even glee had been a stronger than the fury had been. The concern she had for his temper melts from her at the realization.

A little smirk blooms on her face as she pulls up next to the Beast’s stilled form. He doesn’t watch her but intently stares through the open door that he tightly gestures to. “Your room.” His scratchy voice murmurs almost nervously. 

Rey narrows her eyes at him before turning to examine the room. The curtain-less windows taking up the entire back wall illuminate the room faintly now that the moon is high in the night sky. The floor isn’t washed but it’s clean of any clutter that could hurt her. With that worry gone, she walks into the room to examine it closer. The large wardrobe in the corner of the room stands out in contrast by being clean and beautifully painted. A giant hanging mirror graces the wall by the wardrobe and looks in need of a good polish. The brick fireplace sat at the only non-glass section on her back wall. There is a doorway to Rey suspects leads to a bathroom by the mirror and she has to pull her eyes away to keep herself from running over to see it.

Her eyes drift to the big canopy bed that would probably have to be beaten to sleep on without fear of waking up dirty. It was big, and nearly had her knees weakening to look at. It looks softer than anything that could grace Rey’s life. She is looking at something that should belong royalty.

There was no way this room was for her. This perfect room was bigger than any house she remembers living in. Fingers outstretched to touch the day blanket neatly tucked onto the bed. Awe paints her face as her jaw drops open at the feeling of something so smooth under her touch. She skills her face to a cool expression when she turns to look at the Beast. His nervous expression has changed to a smug victorious one at her actions. He doesn't smile but Rey can see the glee in his eyes.

“What do you want from me?” Rey suspiciously demands. Her fist tightly presses into the bed as she prepares for the answer, prepares for the dungeon, prepares for the truth, or something that made sense.

The Beast’s face smooth into a neutral expression. “Dinner. It’s not a request. You will join me. I was about to dine when your thief decided to steal from my castle.” He explains before turning to leave, “Phasma and Hux, watch over her.”

Rey stares at him, and quickly replies, “I don’t want dinner.” 

Her stomach grumbles. He stops, and tilts his head at the sound. His hearing picks up her excuse and his eyes narrow. Her eyes widen in realization that he’d heard her as her hand rests on her stomach in surprise. “You’re not just hungry, you are starving.” He growls in response. Anger twinges his accusation. Rey’s breath hitches. The Beast takes a deep breath and hisses, “Don’t be late”

Without any other prompting, he storms away from the room. 

Rey’s eyebrows furrow and she is quick to run forward to close her door. The click of the door locking has a relieved breath escaping her lips. Her body quivering as it leans heavily against the door, Rey closes her eyes and wonders aloud, “Who the hell are Phasma and Hux?”

“Us.” A male voice replies from inside of the room. Rey startles away from the door as he eyes fly wide open. A screech leaves her mouth at the noise but she sees nobody when she looks around. Confusion stirs in her when she pushes off the wall to look around the room briefly.

A throat clears, and an accented woman’s voice replies, “Down here.”

Her gaze drops to see a polished lit candelabra, and clock that is now moving around the room clicking their tongue in disgust at the state of the room. Words tangled in Rey’s mind but she couldn’t find a way to string them together to express her whirlwind of emotions. The candelabra stares in glee as she watches Rey try to piece together thoughts.

“No need to speak all at once, dear. I am Phasma, and this is my friend, Hux.” Phasma greets her, gesturing with a candle to a mantle clock who is touching the bed’s frame with an ornate metal design as if it were a hand in distaste. He looks up to Rey, and simply says, “Pleasure.”

Rey stars at Hux in disbelief as Phasma scoffs and says, “Don’t mind Hux. He is just concerned for the Knight. What is your name?” 

Rey swallows back her disbelief to replace it for curiosity. “My name is Rey.”

A loud clatter comes from the wardrobe before the wood seems to shudder and come to life. “Oh what a lovely name!” The Wardrobe crows as it rocks back and forth in delight. “I can’t wait to dress you! It’s been so long since I’ve had anyone to take care of. I was thinking a nice black dress that I have-”

Hux shushes the Wardrobe, “Can’t you see that you are overwhelming the girl? Phasma can help clean her up before dinner. The Knight will not be pleased if she remains barefoot, dirty, and cold.”

Rey stars at the Wardrobe, and back to Hux as he steps away from the bed to move to the bathroom. Running water comes from the bathroom, and Rey’s gapes at the open door to the bathroom. The furniture is not only animated, it was _helping her_. Rey must be dreaming. Rey must’ve fallen off of BB and hit her head. This had to be purgatory. 

Phasma nods in agreement with Hux and hops over to the Wardrobe. “Yes, we need to step on it. Rey, would you prefer this dress or this other one? I don’t believe we have many trousers other than riding pants so I apologize but-”

“I’m not changing into his clothes.” Rey interrupts, stepping forward to close the doors to the Wardrobe. The Wardrobe seems offended by her actions but only let’s out a scoff. Rey gives them an apologetic look but continues with her firmness about her decision. “I am not having dinner with him, and I am most certainly not changing into a dress for him.” She tells Phasma.

“But you must have dinner with him.” Phasma informs her. She backs away from the Wardrobe and lets out a deep breath causing her wax face to smooth into a calm look. The deep breath is an attempt to push away the growing anxiety of being here in this castle forever, being told what to do and wear, when to eat and sleep but all it does is bring it closer to the surface. Just as suddenly as her calm tide washes over her, she is crying.

She presses her back against the coldness of the wall and slides down it with a sob. She would never ride again. She would never be able to read her books or tinker again. She would become nothing but a doll for the Beast’s amusement.

Phasma squeals in terror watching Rey breakdown. She hurriedly tries to console her but she hesitates touching her with her flames lit. She quickly extinguishes them with her breath and then awkwardly pats Rey’s arm.

Hux glances out of the bathroom to see Rey crying on the ground. He gasps quietly, and scuttles to get her a warm washcloth to wipe her tears from the bathroom cabinets. When she doesn’t make a move to take it, he huffs and gently brushes it against her neck and cheeks. The warmth of the cloth has Rey leaning into gesture. Her cries turn into small hiccupping gasps as Phasma helps her control her breathing.

When Hux removes to cloth, Rey shivers at the sudden coolness. She curls in on herself in an attempt to retain the heat. Phasma and Hux share a look between each other, and they come to a silent agreement. Phasma knocks on the Wardrobe doors as Hux patters off to the bathroom.

Hux hustles out and starts the careful job of lighting the fireplace. Phasma emerges from the Wardrobe with a pair of socks, and thick clothes. “Rey, I beg of you to change. I found some comfortable clothing for you and I promise to clean your clothes so that they can be returned to you tomorrow.” Phasma bribes, laying the clothes next to Rey so she wouldn’t be pressuring her to take the clothes from Phasma’s arms.

The temptation for warmth is too great for Rey and she bundles the clothes up to take to the bathroom. Phasma bounces over to Hux to help him clean out the cobwebs from the fireplace. Both of them wait with baited breath, keeping a close eye on the bathroom door. A fire starts to kindle when Rey stumbles out in cozy socks, big cloth shirt, and pants.

Her airy and disgusting blouse was neatly folded with her ripped pants. She sheepishly hands them to Phasma’s waiting arms. At least, she thinks they are arms. She watches as Phasma hops out of the room when Rey opens the door for her.

“Good, it’s time for dinner. By the time you get back, the fire should have warmed up your room nicely.” Hux chatters, tossing a few more sticks into the fireplace.

Rey stiffens and stares at Hux, disturbed. “I’m not having dinner with him.” Rey snaps. She walks swiftly over the her bed and beats it with her palm. It doesn’t release as much dust as Rey thought that it would so she slides under the pile of blankets instead of laying on them.

“Yes, you are. You must.” Hux pleads as he watches her disappear underneath the blankets. Rey only answers with a solid, “no.” and nothing more.

Hux worries, and stumbles over to Phasma when she walks back into the room. “She is still refusing dinner. Who’s going to tell the Knight?” He mutters to her. Phasma hums, and simply says, “Well, you are going to have to tell him.”

Hux sputters in disbelief but realizes that Phasma is being serious. Hux clears his throat, and holds his hand up for a moment when he closes the door behind himself. Phasma could hear him hopping down the stairs. She waits for it, and the long pause seems to be almost exciting as it builds.

A near giggle escapes her lips as the roar of the Beast fills the castle and reverberates across the stone of the castle. The roar is full of anger, and is pure animal. It startles Rey out of her bed. The fear in her eyes dulls at the realization of what the roar is.

The thud of the Beast storming down the hall seems not to affect Rey, Phasma notes. Even Phasma flinches when the Beast beats on the door viciously. The door holds but just barely. Rey sticks her ground and glares at the door from her bed.

“You will leave your room.” He snarls out out loudly. Phasma feels the pressure of the order knowing that if it had been directed at her then she wouldn’t have been able to resist; yet Rey sits firmly on the bed with her arms crossed and her eyes staring down the door. “No.” She stiffly answers back, knowing he could hear her through the door.

That fuels his anger to burns brighter. No one he met could avoid his orders, and she sounded nowhere near close to being affected by his order. “Fine. You can just starve.” He booms loudly before turning to Hux. “She gets nothing.” He snarls at him before storming away.

Hux sighs, and informs Phasma. She nods, and stays in the room with Rey. Phasma watches Hux leave before clambering to the Wardrobe to whisper to them. 

Rey deflates when she notices what the furniture does. It must mean he won’t be coming back, and that his anger was quick to burn out. Phasma had looked unsurprised by his rage. That meant it wasn’t a new thing to this castle.

Rey steels herself when her stomach rumbles again. She takes a quick glance at Phasma and notes her distraction. With quick feet, she shuffles out of her bed and out of the room. Hux, however, glances sideways at the disturbance and then takes a second glance in fear when he sees Rey looking around the hall and heading down the stairs toward the kitchens.

“Rey!” He calls after her as he tries to move after her as fast as he could. He tries hard to flag her down. His hand grabbing onto the hem of her pants he stumbles after her. “Rey, you can’t be out! the Knight gave us orders!” He hisses as loudly as he could without disturbing the Beast.

“Why do you call him that?” Rey asks curiously as she distracts Hux from what she is doing as she presses her palm against the kitchen door in the main floor of the castle. Hux sputters at the question, and tries to find an answer for her.

She sighs, and shrugs while pushing into the kitchen. Phasma comes bouncing down the stairs, and calls to Hux, “She left! She- oh, you found her. Good job, Hux.” Her sarcasm drips as she bounces past Hux and into the kitchen. “Rey, you must go back to-.” Phasma pauses at the sight in front of her.

Rey is standing happily by the center table in the kitchen, and talking animatedly to the Teapot. The Stove pipes up in the conversation they are having, and Rey laughs. Phasma hears the laughter, and stares at Rey. Hux pauses too.

Phasma and Hux share a glance again. They felt it and they knew it. The Light is in her. “We need food for her and pronto.” Phasma snarls at the tools in the kitchen. They all stiffen and readily agree to make food for their newcomer. “Rey, when was the last time you ate?” Hux asks as he climbs on to the center table of the kitchen to set her a small table set.

“Lunch.” Rey replies airily as she gets distracted with the sudden bursts of flame from the Stove as it starts to accept chopped vegetables from the Cutlery. The smell is almost immediately filling the air as they warm the food originally meant for dinner.

“You must be famished. Have a glass of water. It shouldn’t take long. They love to cook and with you here, it makes them excited.” Phasma tells her, and helps Hux along with setting what they need.

A plate appears before Rey just as Phasma promises, and she wastes no time digging in. She all but ignores her cutlery as her hunger takes over her and seems to drag her back in time to her scavenging days. Her hands were coated in the grease from the roast, and held onto the little loaf of bread like it was a lifeline.

“So why do they, you all, call the Beast ‘the Knight’?” Rey asks with her mouth stuffed to the brim. She tries to cover her mouth but it doesn’t cover much.

Phasma clears her throat and replies, “Why do you call him ‘the Beast’?”

Rey’s eyebrows furrow in confusion. “He is one.”

Phasma smiles, “Then you have your answer. He is one.”

Rey’s confusion turns into bewilderment as she drops her food. “He isn’t a Knight.”

Phasma pushes the glass of water closer to Rey to get her to drink some. “Then he isn’t a Beast.”

Rey nearly chokes on her water but tucks away the argument for later. Hux sneers at her but the face drops when Phasma elbows him. She turns to look at him with a twinge in her eyes. Her eating habit wasn’t something that need made them uncomfortable per se but it gave them a glimpse of Rey. She ate as if she were scared it would dissolve underneath her. Phasma and Hux share one last glance for the night before they decide to let it go for Rey’s sake.

They would be having words with the Beast about this food restriction because they knew that this castle wouldn’t be just another place to make her this way.


	4. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> But then she's never looked at him that way before

Shaking with rage, the Beast stood over the enchanted red rose he’d received almost fifteen years ago. For the first time in a long time, the rose was active. It was almost singing, and the Beast stared in awe at it. The last time it had whispered to him had been on the night that he’d first been cursed. His anger had evaporated when he realized the rose had started to sing again. He had dropped the vase he was in the midst of throwing and stood to meditate over the rose. His intense concentration on listening to the rose is lost on Phasma and Hux seeing as they couldn’t hear its siren song.

They had just come back from seeing to it that Rey actually slept. Hux and Phasma stood behind the Beast attentively awaiting his reply. A grumble revertabrate through his chest. A sign he was thoughtful on what they were saying, and not just ignoring them for his meditation.

“What are you hoping to accomplish by telling me this?” He murmurs to them. His voice gruff from overuse.

“Do I need to repeat myself? She eats like she's afraid for her next meal. She licked the plate clean. She shouldn’t be forced to eat only with you if that means she won't eat at all. Starving her won't make her like you.” Hux huffs out at the Beast.

His eyes focusing calmly on the rose. Not rising up to Hux’s protest, he replies. “I am aware. Feed her. Don't let her go hungry.” 

Snow fall had begun soon after the day Rey became the Beast’s guest. Rey sat comfortably in front of the Stove as the Utensils brought her small samples to try. Her favorite being the gray stuff that was whipped on top of a sliced baguette.

Fires were lit in every fireplace in the castle, and the Wardrobe had given her a thick black cloak that kept the fire’s warmth close to Rey. The castle was never cold to Rey again, and more of the furniture could be seen roaming about. They attended to Rey all the time when they weren't working around the castle. Working on what, she had no clue. The floor still had broken and sharp objects scattered across the ground.

Phasma had simply given Rey new boots to wear to amend the problem. They were a little more than tan booties but Rey adored them all the same. She curls her booties underneath her legs as she tries another bite to eat. A delectable cherry tomato that seemed freshly picked that snowy morning as it burst in Rey’s mouth. She grins at Phasma and Hux in gratefulness for the charity. “What will the Beast say if he catches you feeding me?” She teases over her bite of food.

They stiffly grin back. Hux replies smoothly, “He won't mind. He ordered that you never go hungry. The staff is more than willing to indulged in his orders.”

Rey’s eyebrows rose in disbelief but she doesn’t comment when a plate is pushed towards her by a fork.

 

Salutes are given at the Beast’s orders and undertone of a dismissal. He grunts a response to their respect and leans forward to stare deeper into the rose’s pulsing glow. There is a beat of silence, and the Beast detects no movement from their presences.

“What?” He snarls. His red gaze turns to contemplate them with impatience.

Phasma is quick to jump answer him, “She is already growing bored and she hasn’t even been here for a few hours, sir. We don't know what to do with her.”

He sighs; his impatience swelling before diminishing as he takes a calming breath. “You've raised a child and yet you can't supply for boredom.” He says sarcastically. After shaking his head at Phasma, he said, “Take her to the barn. She knows how to ride. The horses should please her.” He answers dismissively.

They nod, and take their leave for the first night.

 

The sharp exhale of humid air escapes Rey’s masked mouth when Hux escorts her to the barn. Her scarf snugly wrapped around her ears to cover her mouth is tugged down by her gloved hands. Her gloves quickly dust off the snow from her shoulders . The warmth of the barn envelopes her as her nose is invaded with the familiar smell of barn and riding. 

“You own horses?” Rey questions in awe when she hears gentle neighing and the unsettled movement of hooves.

“Yes. The castle owned many horses previously. Now, we have two left.” Hux responds. He walks forward, leading her to the two stalls in the center of the barn that held the horses. Her cloak sweeping across the ground as she glides towards the stalls.

“Hello pretty boy!” She excitedly greets the first horse. The gelding returns her enthusiasm as he drops his head outside of his stall to sniff her. Her laughter stirs the other horse into coming towards the door of his stall too.

She indulges in having the problem of too many horses to pet at once. “What are their names?” She manages to ask over the horses trying to distract her.

Phasma chortles and declares, “The light grey barrel racer is Falcon. He is old but he runs like you wouldn't believe. Artoo is the white speckled barrel racer. He's been sleeping as of late but be careful, he still nips.”

Rey feels the light nips on her open palm from Artoo. “I can see that. Who takes care of them?” She questions, reaching up to settle on stroking Falcon’s neck.

“The equipment that lives in here does the work usually but if you would like to come down in the morning to help them then we can arrange it.” Hux replies. His eyes watching as hers lit up in glee.

“That would be amazing.” She agrees adamantly before biting her lip and asking, “Can I ride them?”

Phasma and Hux give each other a glance that Rey has come to learn meant they were silently discussing in a look. Hux turns back first and answers with a solid, “No.”

Rey’s shoulder drop in disappointment but she nods her understanding. She doesn’t let it diminish her fun with the horses that are excited to finally see a human after so long. Phasma and Hux watch as she plays with the horses. They deny another one of her requests. This time she asked to lead the horses around. Rey settles with not asking again, and just standing with the horses.

 

That night they returned to the Beast. It had only been a day and they were running for the hills, the Beast huffs in disbelief. He kept brushing against her mind to check on her periodically through the day but he never went inside as she asked. He could feel her boredom through just the brush. He had been pleased when he got the sudden flash of her happiness but it quickly disintegrated. 

Nonetheless, he waits for them to explain the problem he was already aware of.

Hux and Phasma stand in their usual spot but the Beast sat in his tattered wingback chair overlooking the balcony entrance. He taps his claw repetitively against the chair’s arm and snarls, “No wonder she’s bored. I said she rides, and yet you treat her like she’s fragile. She won’t escape on the horses. She doesn’t intend to. She’s bored, and annoyed. You are just dangling something she loves in front of her and then telling her she can’t have it.”

Hux sighs and mutters, “Just like you are doing with her freedom.”

The Beast’s hands tighten around the arms of the chair, and the sound of the cracking oak wood shuts Hux up. Phasma steps up and tries to cool things over, “Sir, these horses are just one thing. What else are we supposed to do? Feed her until she can barely ride? You were a different child than this grown woman.”

His breathing shifts into deep breathes to keep himself calm. He focuses on his breathing, and lightly brushes against her mind. “She’s bored again. You will see to it that she has freedom in the courtyard with the horses. You know where she is forbidden and if I have to spell it out for you then you’ll know who’s freedom is really dangling.” He threatens.

 

The next day, Hux and Phasma find Rey in the barn just as the sun was coming up. Her cloak was hung up on one of the pegs, and she was hard at work refilling the stalls. Her humming fills the barn as she meandered around the stall. A Shovel stood outside the stall watching her progress. They noticed Hux and Phasma approach and bowed before turning away from the stall.

Rey pauses in her song to wipe the cold sweat from her forehead and to greet her visitors, “Good morning Hux and Phasma. How are you?”

Hux lets out a grunt of distaste. “Worried sick. We scoured the castle for you when we didn’t find you in your room. You are lucky the Knight didn’t seem too perturbed by you being missing.” Hux explains, gesturing wildly at an amused Rey.

“He seems to be interested in me. What has he even done for me since I’ve arrived? Phasma and you have been more catering and thoughtful than he has. You let me see your horses, and actually eat.” Rey says coolly as she sets aside the last bit of hay, and exits the stall.

Hux nods understandingly and Phasma effectively jams her metal elbow in Hux’s wooden side. She gives him a pointed look when he gives her a pained one. He sighs, and scrambles after Rey’s retreating figure. She is shrugging on her cloak when he manages to snag the hem of her trousers.

“Rey, wait! The Beast actually did all of that. He also gave express permission for you to be allowed to ride but we denied you the ability to.” Hux rapidly admits.

Rey blinks down at Hux as she tries to comprehend what Hux just told her. Her jaw drops open to say something but the words don’t seem to come out. Finally, she blubbers out, “So does that mean I can ride?”

The Beast sat contently in his warm wingback chair as the rose sings to him when he hears the noise that awakens him from his reverie. He sits up straight as the laughter of all things gets louder. It nearly overpowers the sound of the horse’s hooves on the ground but his hearing picks it all up. 

He nearly topples his chair when he feels the wave of ecstasy coursing through her. His eyes slip closed briefly, and it takes his entire being to not shove himself in her head to drown in this euphoria. A purr escaped his lips as his eyes slide open and he stalks to the balcony just in time to see her bolt past in the courtyard on top of Falcon.

Her hair was pinned back haphazardly into three buns but the wind kept her face clear. Her eyes were crinkled from laughter as she races through the snow. Her smile never dropped as she leaned forward to leap over one of the low brick walls that held flowers. 

Falcon took it all into stride as she howled her happiness. Her body moved fluidly with Falcon as they lept over more flower walls. With each leap, the Beast’s purring became louder until it was almost just a rumble blooming in his chest with a new warmth that seared through him pleasantly with each pulse he got from Rey’s mind.

His mind is ripped away from the pleasure of watching Rey enjoy freedom by a blinding pain that had him growling and on edge. He bristles and turns to the source of his pain. The rose burns brightly, and tempts him back into the darkness where the light won’t provoke his headache.

Night falls, and Rey’s laughter had already ended hours earlier. The Beast lay exhausted in his chair when Hux and Phasma return for the third night in a row. The pain pulsing through his mind keeps him pinned to chair with his eyes closed.

The silence demanded Hux and Phasma’s attention to the Beast’s current state. Hux hesitates before asking, “Sir, are you ok-?”

“I am fine.” The Beast grounds out between clenched teeth. “How is my scavenger?”

Hux’s eyebrows furrow as well as metal can. When he opens his mouth to protest, Phasma steps in to soothingly say, “She’s worn out, and sleeping after a quick meal. Her ride through the courtyard was exhilarating for her to say the least. You were right, sir.”

The Beast snorts in slight amusement but flinches away from the movement when his mind protests to the movement. “If I am right then why are you here?” He grumbles.

There is a pause in conversation before Phasma finally says, “We don’t know what else to do with her.”

The Beast can’t help rolling his eyes despite his pounding head. He closes his eyes again to take a few deep meditating breathes to collect himself. The pain ebbs away enough for him to give an answer to them. “Take her through the garden, and show her some of things that can’t be fixed by the cursed. I am sure she’ll find some sort of joy in that.” He encourages them.

Phasma and Hux salute him. They both share the thought that Rey won’t be pleased but they don’t deny the Beast his thoughts in this state of mind. 

Days come and fall during Rey’s time at the castle. In that time, she fixes the Stove’s broken knob, polishes the Utensils and almost all the metal in the castle, alongside nearly any little broken thing Hux and Phasma can scrounge up. They bring her gears that have been lost to the castle, and scrap pieces of metal. Each time they do, she lights up in joy and adds it to her growing pile.

The castle’s windows are washed with Rey by the side of all the rags that danced to their own tune as they scrubbed the grime off with the help of the buckets. She ties her hair back with one of the rags that wasn’t alive. It fits snugly around her mouth to keep the dust away.

Sometimes when she is working, she can almost feel him watching her but no matter how swiftly she turns around, he is never there. She even tries to still her body or continue her work normally and search out for his presence with only her mind. She isn’t quite sure how it works, and she often feels silly for doing it but she does it anyway.

The feeling of his mind being some distance away assures her that he is not around. It gives her the courage to talk to Hux and Phasma freely. She doesn’t seem to connect that even if the Beast only catches her feelings, her two bodyguards are a pipeline back to the Beast whether the Beast wants to hear it or not.

When she expresses her need for her old book, books begin to appear by her bedside when she leaves her room during the day. She inquires to her two little followers but they deny placing them on her nightstand. She stacks them up neatly by her bedside and even reads a few of them before bed but none of the books had anything to do with metalwork or technology.

They helped her focus on going to sleep rather than on the roars that had started becoming a nightly development since she rode Falcon for the first time. The sound of him pacing had Rey anxious but Phasma assured her that they were just nightmares. Rey figured that was understandable but the worry she felt for him didn’t dim so she reads the odd collection of books she received.

Rey couldn’t connect what _Pride and Prejudice_ had to do with _Devils, Drugs, and Doctors_ but she kept them by her bed. The books ranged widely, and kept her entertained when she needed to be. Hux and Phasma had been adamant about keeping her busy, and while Rey enjoyed the attempt, she wished they would stop since they seemed to be fairly inexperienced with caring for a human.

The ideas were not of their own. It was obvious to Rey but she couldn’t wrap it around her head that the Beast, her captor, was suggesting all of these practices. He was allowing her a freedom that Phasma and Hux were severely uncomfortable with. She was free to go anywhere she wanted in the castle save the west wing and, while her curiosity struck her to search the entire castle, Hux couldn’t easily conceal how much he disliked the idea.

Phasma had an easier time hiding her distaste of Rey roaming freely, but it was still there every time they pulled her along to another thing to look at. If Rey had to look at another Rag that wanted to talk to her about how long it had been since the windows had been washed, she might just crumble in boredom. Reading the book she obtained about mushrooms would be more pleasant than this handy work.

She really wished she hadn’t fixed everything in the castle the moment Hux showed her all that was broken.

An idea strikes her when she is laying on the remnants of a couch in the grand hall by the warm fireplace. Hux prattles on about how the occupants of the house actually obtain firewood when Rey interrupts him, “Hux, wasn’t there something you wanted to show me?”

Hux grinds to a halt, and Phasma lifts herself up from laying mindlessly on the couch. She shoots Rey a grateful look as she grabs her hand. “Yes. The courtyard blooms all year round and is gorgeous. Why don’t you come look?” Phasma explains, already hopping off the couch to lead Rey away.

Rey yanks her cloak of the back of the couch, and secures it around her neck. She follows Phasma’s faint hopping sounds out to the courtyard where Rey had first seen the castle. The flowers had struck her as gorgeous when she had first seen them, but she didn’t want to be distracted then. Now, she had all the time in the world to admire them.

She tugs her hood up, and gloves on when the brisk snowy air greets her. Phasma lights her candles and hops along the path disappearing to overgrowth. “The flowers here haven’t been cared for much past slight grooming but they bloom well. Don’t you agree?” Phasma asks, hopping on top of one of the brick gardening walls that Rey had been using as obstacles a few days ago.

Her candle extinguishes as she reaches for a lily. Rey follows Phasma’s movements and ignores Hux’s scuttling and sputtering. Rey admires the lily, and doesn’t hesitate in plucking her glove off with her teeth to feel the soft petals. The softness surprises her. The urge to pluck the flower pangs in her but when she asks Hux is quick to deny her.

“It’s the Knight’s garden. You cannot!” Hux exclaims, clambering onto the brick wall. Rey glances at Phasma, and she nods reluctantly in agreement with Hux. “Sorry. We don’t make the rules. He’s killed for less than a thief trying to harm his castle.” She concludes almost teasingly.

When Rey stiffens at the mention of her keeper’s murderous nature, Phasma is quick to amend herself, “That includes all of the castle down to this petal and, now, you. If you love them so much, we can simply visit them whenever you would like.”

Rey smiles grimly at Phasma. Phasma looks at Hux in worry. “Well, let’s go look at some more flowers, why don’t we?” Hux offers with a clap of his metal hands.

Her feet lead her through the garden without much coercing from either of them. She takes her time to indulge her senses with the flowers. Their light scents filled the air with each wind billow. Rey would sit and smell the gardenias when they came around to them. She pet the plush petals of the petunias. She lingers at the tulip. However, the flower she stay with the most is overgrown and surrounding the courtyard. Despite their abundance, Rey can’t help but stop and itch to take just one with her.

The figure above her watches her movements with a cocked head. The Beast thinks on Rey looking at his flowers before sweeping away and waving a hand to close the balcony doors. 

That night a gardenia lay clipped on top of Rey’s bed. 

Rey first approaches it with curiosity before it dawned on her who brought it to her and why. She liked it, and he brought it to her. This Beast thought he could win her affections this way.

She plucks the flower off the bed and unclasped the window. The flower flutters to the snowy ground below her room’s closing window. The Beast feels her reaction and can’t help the pulse of anger as his temper rises.

The next night, a lily and a book lay on her bed for her.

Rey’s reaction is swifter with no hesitance in her step as she tosses it to join the wilting gardenia. The Beast feels her rejection once more, and it aids his lack of sleep by fueling his temper. He meditates and hopes he can get it right just once.

He tries again the next night with a wild flower, and two books.

He feels the rejection before it’s even out the window. His mind fogs over with his temper threatening to burst. His claws dig into his empty bookcase, and shoves it over with little effort. His claws rake through his unruly curls in nervousness. _What else could he do?_ He stops, and stares out the window with one last shred of hope.

The following night, Rey is ready to throw whatever is on her bed out the window. She stops. The object that he had given her The red rose was fresh, and still chilly from the open air. It was planted in a pot with slightly damp soil, and wood chips. This perfectly normal red rose was soft to the touch as Rey strokes the petals.

The thorns are shaved off of the stems causing Rey to snort in amusement. He had thought she might hurt herself. It was cute to her. Rey accepts the present, and the Beast feels it. He nearly howls in happiness when he doesn’t hear any shattering glass, or even the feeling of rejection. Instead he felt her happiness once more, and he wanted to roll in it. It was like a drug to him.

That same night of joy for both of them, the Beast has nightmares. His howls of agony fill the dark castle. The furniture was long asleep but Rey lay in bed awake and aching to get him to stop. She wanted to beg him to stop but she knew that was no way to get the nightmares to leave. The howl of the fierce wind from outside the castle accompanied and heightened his yells.

Usually, the Beast had already emerged from his nightmare and started pacing but it seemed something was holding him in his agony, and suffocating him in it. Rey could feel his imprisonment in the nightmare.

When his howling takes a sharp turn into borderlining childish screams and sobs, she can’t take it anymore. In her nightgown, she throws the blankets off of her and stumbles out of bed in a flurry. She snags her cloak from her bedpost and secures it around her neck to keep herself warm in the cooling castle now that the embers of the fires are dying down.

She steps outside of her room and notes that Phasma was no longer watching her door. The relief or not having to sneak around had her moving faster to get to the west wing. Hux had warned her not to trespass in this part of the castle but at this point in time, she couldn’t care less.

She just wanted the Beast to not be in pain anymore. Surely a Beast of his size could have no nightmares and yet, he was afflicted with this pain that nearly crushed Rey’s heart at the sound.

The west hall isn’t cleaned and once again her bare feet are left unprotected to what was left of the shattered castle. Rey glides across the hallway and starts carefully looking in the rooms that could hold the Beast.

Lightning strikes outside the castle allowing brief moments of illumination that allowed her to see where she was going and lead her to the last room of the hall when it outlines the open door. She hesitantly walks towards the wails of pain when they start slowing. Rey grunts and shrugs. She was already here. She might as well make sure he was alright.

Her palm presses against the great oak door that is cracked open. She moves to slide into the room, and notes how much messier it was in here. Nothing remained intact. A single light aided Rey’s view. A single rose glowed in the center of the room that seemed to be floating atop a dressing table beneath a glass bell jar.

The red rose illuminates the usually dark room. Books lay strewn across the floor, long forgotten. The drawers to the dresser were upturned and many lay broken around the room. Glass shards from the balcony windows were shattered carelessly on the floor seeing as they must have not bothered the Beast’s bare feet. Rey could practically see him pacing the room with no mind to the glass.

The bed posts are cracked and scratched to the point that they barely hold up the remnants of the old canopy. The bed, Rey notes, is empty of the Beast. In fact, the noise of him was gone. The room seemed empty of him. She carefully stutters forward in her step in search for him. Her hands settle on the glass vase as if it called her to just relax around it.

When she can’t find him, she closes her eyes and probes for him. What she finds doesn’t excite her. In fact, it fills her body to the brim with dread. He was awake, and brewing with a rage that choked her to even brush against. Her eyes snap open and she flies backwards in fear.

Scorching red eyes force her back at their willing. He stalks forward to follow her retreating. “What are you doing here? You aren’t supposed to be here!” He bellows at her.

Rey tries to stutter a response but all she gets out are rambling and excuses. With each passing remark, the fire in his eyes blazed dangerously. A lion’s roar rips out of his mouth with an animalistic rage that terrified Rey into stumbling out of his room as fast as her legs could take her.

Her mind doesn’t even stop to think as she is racing down the hallway with her cloak dancing behind her. Her feet carry her down the stairs as her mind switches into survival. She doesn’t stop when Phasma and Hux stumble out of the kitchen when she runs past it.

She is down the stairs faster than Poe could’ve even tried. The doors to the castle open at her willing, and she picks up the hem of her dress to run down the slick front steps. Artoo is awake and in the courtyard as if waiting for her. She doesn’t question it, or the fact that the courtyard gates burst open.

She clambers onto to Artoo’s bareback. The wind grabs her cloak and tries hard to tug it off her as she nudges Artoo forward into the snowing night. Her gaze stays in front of her, and refuses to turn around even when the Beast tries to follow after her.

His hoarse voice calls after her weakly. The frigid ice burns his feet as he stumbles on to the front steps and down into the snow. They follow her path as best as he can but the wind is fighting him. Her figure is clouded in the forest by the time he can bring an arm up to look through the flurries of snow.

The Beast’s heart drops when he snaps his head up to the sky. A storm much worse than what was already here was approaching, and, judging by the wind, it was fastly approaching.

“Rey!” He sorrowfully calls out but his voice is haggard. A painful and tiny growl escapes his mouth as he clenches his fists to he prepare himself for what he’s about to do. Without listening to Phasma and Hux’s warning about the storm, he bolts of into the dark forest.


	5. Chapter 4: D.C. al Coda

The clock tumbles back in the story of the Beast and the Beauty. 

It not only falls back in time but a change in setting, and landscape to the first day of snowfall. The clock spins backwards to only a few days earlier to when Rey first rode Artoo with no thoughts of her imprisonment. All thoughts of her complicated freedom pushed to the back of her mind in exchange for laughter and happiness. It’s only a few days earlier to when the lights of the village all startled awake in the dead of night as the sounds of Poe screaming fill the air.

Echos of confusion and fear liter the air as the ravings of a mourning man terrify them awake. The cold air had only just blown in so the villagers weren’t afraid of stepping out to see what was the commotion going on so late into the night.

Poe stood dehydrated, and as pale in the face that his tanned skin would let him go. His charming brown eyes were gaunt and distant after the horrid ride from the castle. His jacket is coated in mud, and snow from where he stumbled off BB a few times while trying to make it back. His hand was coated in a spray of blood from where he was beating the door. Splinters linger underneath his skin but he ignores it as he tries hard to get anybody in the orphanage awake.

His bleeding hand is pounding viciously on the orphanage's door when he found the door handle to be locked. BB’s neigh don’t help smother the sound of delirious rolling off of Poe as the villagers start stumbling out of their warm houses to see what the problem was.

“Han! Madame Organa! Please you have to help her! Anybody listen to me!” Poe wails as he tries the doorknob again. His foggy breath is coming out in speedy huffs as he tries to shoulder the thick oak door open.

Lights flicker in the orphanage’s second story window, and he could hear them on the other side. Poe seemed to become crazed at that. “That _thing_ has her! We have to save her!” Poe begs with a rasp in his voice, his fingers ghosting along the door frame now that he had someone’s attention.

The people in the streets began harassing Poe from their houses, drowning out his beginnings from the orphanage. Poe looks around desperately, and faintly notes that Vince had left the pub with a crowd following him.

“We are in trouble!” bursts out of his throat when people started yelling at him to quiet down, or find asylum. The door opens with no hesitance to reveal Han and Leia in their nightwear. Leia looks sternly around in the streets as Han pulls Poe into the house. He brushes the dry blood on Poe’s forehead and looks over his Poe’s bleeding nails from scratching at the animated furniture. Concern is hidden in his voice when he asks, “What happened? Where’s Rey?”

“A monster attacked. Lor Sans Teka showed me the castle and what I had to do, to steal from the monster. I don’t know what happened but Lor fired off an arrow and it just _stopped_ in front of that beast.” Poe hisses, and Han nearly flinches at the hate pouring out of Poe. 

“Lor just greeted him like he _knew_ that monster. Lor couldn’t move but he was so calm.” Poe explains shakily, gripping Han harshly. His eyes go blank as he looks past Han. “He was so calm.”

Han shakes Poe hard once, “Look at me, Poe. What happened?”

Poe’s dazed eyes snap to Han and he steels himself. “The Beast killed him. A burning poker through the heart that he pulled from the fireplace. I was supposed to be his prisoner...” His mutters out the words tumbled out his mouth as he tried to stay calm.

Han looked at Leia who had turned to look at Poe with sharp eyes at the mention of a beast. Her terror stricken eyes look at Han with a severe calculation before she nods and turns to order everyone in the street away. They had all heard Poe’s raving and talk of a monster in the forest line. Vince had broken through the barrier at the talk, and had listened in intently to the ramblings that dribbled out of Poe’s mouth.

Tension lines Han’s jaw as Poe contemplates him. Poe’s eyes shine with complete trust that his caretakers would know exactly what to do to about this monster. “Are you ok?” Han questions, patting Poe down to look for any underlying injuries besides his facial wounds. “Poe, you are rambling like a madman. Stop this nonsense.”

Poe freezes but doesn’t push Han away. He simply stares at him in disbelief. When Han looks up at him sternly, he turns to Madame Organa. Her face echoes Han’s as she tries to shoo people away with threats that if her younglings awoke then Poe’s madness wouldn’t be the only thing they had to worry about. “You don’t believe me.” Poe whispers. Han glances up at him with furrowed eyebrows.

“Of course, we don’t! Monsters that attack in the night? That’s sounds preposterous. A pack of wolf maybe but they would never hunt humans unless they were getting desperate. The winter isn’t harsh enough yet. What happened to get you hurt? Are you hurt?” Han inquires as he continues to pat down Poe.

Poe shoves Han’s cautious hand away as he reels back from the avoidance. “I am fine.” He huffs out before harshly gesturing out the door to the forest line. Han’s eyes don’t follow the gesture as Poe yells, “Rey is not! That thing has her prisoner! She’s going to be killed by that _monster!_ ”

Leia spins around in surprise. Both her and Han snap their heads up to stare at each other in horror. Han stiffens, but does nothing from uncertainty what to do in the first place.

Leia reaches out to touch Poe’s shoulder in an attempt to soothe him since the villagers were perking up to the words coming out of Poe’s mouth. Poe drops his arm and softens at Leia’s actions but the tension doesn’t completely leave his form. “Poe, please keep it down.” Leia mutters to Poe.

He reinflates at the demand. “Keep it down?” He snarls into Leia’s face. She doesn’t budge, or flinch at his confronting. “Keep it down?” He repeats in outrage. “Rey is going to die without our help!” 

Spit flies from Poe’s face as he nearly begs with his eyes for Madame Organa to listen to him, to do something, anything.

Han grabs Poe’s biceps and yanks him away from affronting Leia. “We can’t, kid. You are going to have to accept this. We can’t do anything to get her back.” Han snarls in an attempt to get Poe to focus.

“Madame Organa, she’s going to be locked away deep in that castle for the rest of her life! Rey ran after me when BB escaped the castle. Rey took my place. I owe her an escape. The cobblestone will be the only ones to hear her cries at night, and his magic will force her to do his bidding.” He hisses in anger as he steps outside to reach for BB.

“She will have the life sucked out of her by the monster! He will choke her, beat her, and suck her life force straight out of her!” Poe snaps and with each accusation, the caretakers stiffen in guilt.

Vince steps forward at the words, and his gloved hand snatches his hand. 

“What is this insane talk you are disturbing the village about? Monsters in castles? Monsters with magic to force us to do his bidding? Monsters killing my beloved Rey? You are just as crazy as your mad caretakers.” He flippantly sneers with a raised eyebrow.

Poe speaks up to defend himself but Vince presses on with a darkened tone, and his smirk falls. His voice dropping but it is still clearly audible to the entire crowd of villagers.“You are terrifying children. Startling mothers and daughters in the village. Men are feeling threatened about their family’s safety, and business. Tell them you are lying.”

Poe’s voice catches in his throat as he glances around the street. Little kids hid behind their mothers’ nightgowns in terror. Fathers stood in front of their families with protective arms drawn out. Protective arms meant not for the forest and the monster he is trying to warn them about, but for him and his words of caution. Fear shone in all of their eyes, and something that looked like a spark that could ignite a very dangerous flame with just the right words.

He clears his throat and leans into Vince with reluctance to whisper, “The monster is real. He bruised my face with a flick of his hand. His crimson eyes were those of a wolf. His claws could take arms off with clean sweeps. He towered over me, and he took a fancy to Rey. Rey is his now.” 

When he pulls away, anger burns in Vince’s eyes. Before Vince can get a word in otherwise, Poe speaks up, “I must have been seeing images and people from my nightmares. The mugger must have just been from the travelling entertainment meant to scare the kids. I apologize everyone. I am in need of sleep after three days of no rest.”

BB’s reins are held tight in Poe’s grip as he escorts the mare to her barn, and proceeds to rub her down. He pays no mind to the village whispers or Vince’s venomous stare. Han is quick to shoo everyone away and they listen. Slowly, the villagers turn on their heels and disperse to put their younglings to bed.

Leia returns to the house to double check none of the little ones were awaken by the negative force that occurred outside. Poe moves numbly around the barn and crumbles after staring at the ground for a while. Vince watches with hawk eyes as Poe shudders could be seen from the distance. His sobs muffled into his coat jacket.

Vince’s eyes burn a scorching red when he turns towards his home intent on his own horse. He freezes as he feels the change in his appearance. His fingers wither and age as he curls them up in rage.

He closes his eyes to hide them from the dispersing crowd before reaching deep within his mind to find the vice like grip he held deep within him. Like a snake, he slithers into a light meditation in place. The happiness of the prisoner lingers in the back of his cage, and it feels like poison leaking into his own mind. He sees through the prisoner’s eyes and even from this distance, he could feel the familiarity of the power he craved to be his. A power so distinctly Rey’s that he knew without a doubt that he couldn’t have been lied to by the orphan boy.

Through the Beast’s mind, he hears Rey’s laughter echoing brightly; the Beast’s mind flooding with warmth that had been snubbed out more than a decade ago.

The orphan was right. His monster had found what could be his protege, and kept her all for his own pleasure.

Disgust floods him and he drowns the Beast in it like he had done time and time again when the Beast had been so young.

_No one can love a Beast like you,_ he berates the cage over and over again. It was like holding a match to an open cloud of gasoline that ignites the warmth into something much more dark and painful for the Beast to feel. 

The Beast’s crippling pain fuels him like a raging forest fire. Vince’s eyes shift back from the monstrous red to the charming brown as he drinks in the anger, and rage. With each deep breath of toxic meditation, his body changes back into his facade. When he felt normal, he rolled out his shoulders and straightened his back. He was determined to finally have the power he craved. He would be paying the mad house a visit tonight. Rey will come back, and he will be ready to get her to say yes to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No update recently because not beta'd because precious beta's computer is broken, and it still isn't beta'd.


	6. Chapter 5

Pain pulses through Rey like a metronome as it constantly remind her of her problems. The thrum of fear screamed louder than the pain could ever try to bare down on her. Her bare thighs burned trying to cling to Artoo with no saddle. They squeezed around Artoo too tightly for his comfort but Rey couldn’t bring herself to loosen up as they galloped down the slippery cobble path.

Plants had overgrown onto the path after years of being unkempt and traveled on. The path to castle that BB had simply bolted through was clearer than the planned path away from the castle. The snow that seeped and scratched the forest’s ground created a hallucination of an abyss that burned Rey’s eyes.

Everything was white and black. The fresh snow made her want to claw her mind out from how it coated the entire dying forest. The snarled tree branches reach out and tear at her cloak. They claw and rip at her cloak in a fight to toss her off Artoo. Her thighs simply tighten around Artoo. A chirp burst out of Artoo’s mouth that startles Rey.

Her back becomes ramrod straight when she sits up on Artoo. Her foggy mind tries to decipher his chirp when a branch strikes her face. The salty sting instantly freezes, and spreads across her face. She feels the backlash but can’t feel the dripping from the jagged cut below her eye. The blood trickles on to drying blood as the harsh icy wind starts to chill the droplets.

Artoo hesitates when Rey has to straighten herself on his back. Her body nearly leaving his back altogether when the branch had collided with her face. He doesn’t hesitate when she taps him forward and yells, “Come on, Artoo!”

The snow underneath him gives him a struggle to push forward through now that that had stopped but he clambers through it. 

Rey’s right eye starts to swell as her frosted breath fogs up her eyesight. Her breathing becomes pained as sharp stabs shred through her lungs as they struggle to fill up with the wet air. The cloak pulls at her neck as it lifts off her shoulders, and exposes her to the unrelenting frigid wind that is so desperately trying to break Rey.

Choked sounds escape Rey’s lips as they try to get air from around the knot of her cape at her neck. Her vice grip on Artoo’s mane breaks to reach up to rip at fabric around her neck. The cape flutters in the wind as ice refills Rey’s lungs with her gasp. She ducks close to Artoo as soon as she’s free from her only protection against the winter.

Her sun tanned skin erupts in goosebumps as her bones shakes to try and push to stop her dropping temperature. Her cracked lips tear as she separates them to breathe through her mouth since it burned to breath from her burning nose. The searing ice kisses made her nose numb and useless.

She ignores the rusty taste in her mouth from her torn lip as she pants her breathes. Her heart beat against her eardrums demanding for another breathe. Her breathing picks up harshly causing her chest to heave against Artoo’s fur.

The warmth Artoo radiates doesn’t help her bare body as the nightwear does nothing to cover her. It was a simple clothe that simply wrapped around her body with no ties except with itself. The tunic underneath was the same tan fabric that was nothing. It was a wisp of protection from the snow that starts to pour on her.

Her grip is sluggish to react as she tries to release Artoo’s mane again to get to her bun for an extra layer of warmth. Her skin seems to rip at trying move as her joints only barely listen to her. She decides against the idea and simply curls into Artoo as she attempts to look around for any sign of light on the road.

She hears the snap before it happens. The snow shoves over a dead tree into her path that has her scrambling to pull at Artoo to get him to jump. He just manages it but she doesn’t lean back as best as she could’ve causing her to nearly lose her balance once again.

The path is lost to them as Artoo scrambles wildly to get not tumble down the hill of snow that greets them on the other side of the fallen tree. Fear jumps into Rey’s throat as she tries to keep them upright. A one and a half thousand pound animal lay underneath her and she really didn’t want to flip the situation. Feet of snow barely gift Artoo with the ability to stay up but it forces Rey to slow to a trot to keep Artoo from hurting himself in the snow.

Her frosted pants fill the air to intermingle with the unrelenting snow. Her hazel eye that isn’t swollen flits quickly through the forest line, and back up the small hill they fell down. The snow they trudged through started showering down to build a nice gap that left them unable to get back up it.

Rey didn’t know exactly where she was at but she knew she was on the wrong side of the road to be heading back to her home. Her mind whirled as she glanced around and pushed Artoo forward gently. Jakku was her best bet then. If she could make it there without freezing.

Her adrenaline is the only thing letting fingers tighten into Artoo’s mane for support to rearrange herself on his back. Her bare thighs now rub against his heaving chest as she pulls her cloth to cover her legs rather than be tucked underneath them. She regrets having worn the cloth but finds solace in her cotton tunic and arm wraps underneath that accompanied the cloth. Her bare feet weren’t as forgiving towards the outfit.

She tucks them close to Artoo’s warm sides as best as she can. Cold sweat stings her eyes as she is plastered in sweat. Blinking simply stings even more with her swollen eye as she struggles to look around. The pain threatens to come crashing down as she tries to maneuver Artoo through the trees. He doesn’t chirp to Rey’s relief. He simply follows her guidance. Her guidance stops when howls punch renewed fear into Rey’s chest.

Her mind didn’t even flit to the Beast. She knew his howls, angry or otherwise. These weren’t his, and that seemed to make it worse especially when another howl joins in. Her head snaps around to try and see anything but all she can think is _wolves_.

Her pants speed up as she tries to ignore the cracks of twigs, and faint sound of snow crunching under paws that weren’t hooves. Underneath the safety of the trees, it’s easier to see the shadows moving around her. Rey doesn’t hesitate to push Artoo into an quicker trot; thankfully, he didn’t seem to protest as he ears flit around nervously.

Artoo finally showing anxiety over this seems to flare in Rey’s mind like a cloud of smoke that suffocated her. She tries to clear her mind from the animal’s fear but it’s choking her from the inside out worse than her cloak ever could. 

A cry escapes her lip as the fear soaks her a cold that couldn’t compare to the ice stealing her body away from her. It drenched her and left her unable to stop Artoo from jumping at her cry and bolting forward.

The pack of wolves howled and followed her sides as the finally burst into their line of sight. They try to nip at Artoo’s feet but he’s too quick for them but it doesn’t stop the shriek that leaves the horse’s mouth as the burst into an open field.

The white snow blurred together as it fell from the sky and blinded the rest of her vision. Rey feels a wave of fire burn the fog of fear from her mind. Her good eye sees the wolf burst out of the tree line from in front of them. She feels Artoo startle before he actually jolts. In a quick move, she struggles to pull Artoo to a stop as he rears back into the air. Her frozen fingers fail to hold onto him as she falls backwards onto a pile of branches.

The pain is a burst that engulfs her. Her eyes tighten as they snap shut while she writhes on the branches in pain. Her back arches to get off the stabbing branches but the branches clung to her skin through her ripped tunic. They fight to leave shallow cuts lining her back as she rolls off the branches to the cling to the snowy ground.

Artoo shuffles back and nearly crushes her leg. The wolves growl as Rey scrambles to find a way to get up. The beasts circle her and Artoo with hunger etched into their minds now that the winter is taking their food away from them. 

She can’t see clearly with the snow smothering her unstable eyesight. Her body shook with fear, exhaustion, and chill. A cry leaves her lips as Artoo backs up to shield her when a wolf leaps forward. He rears forward with a neigh bursting from him. His hooves hit the ground too close to Rey. A quick roll has her back in the branches as Artoo keeps the wolves away. Fear pulses from Artoo to her and back. It feeds off one another and the fog becomes thick as the bark in her back. It brews and builds into a blinding force that tries to keep her from getting up.

Her body goes lax and she puffs out a breath when her hand wraps around a thick branch by her palm. The anchor is the only thing keeping her anchored to the surface of the world to watch the wolves gang up on Artoo, and sweep near her.

A roar fills the air that Rey knows with no doubt is _his_.

It clears her mind like the fire before had. She knows he is here and angry but she can't feel that fear. She feels no need too. At least, not towards him.

The wolves’ yellow eyes shine through the snowfall like stars. Rey scrambles to her hands and knees with the help of a long branch that had hurt her. A deep, painful breath settles Rey as she faintly feels him brush against her mind. She doesn’t let him in but she doesn’t push him away as she guides the stick firmly in front of her. 

She steps around Artoo to her body between him and the wolves. The wolves seemed indifferent to the Beast’s roar now eyeing Rey with the hunger they previously had for Artoo. She eyes all of them and counts. _One. Two. Three. Four. Five._

She lets out the breath she held and slides her foot back to move into a power stance. Her eyes slide close as she listens and feels where they are just like she could feel him. His anger, and his worry thrummed through her. She could feel where he was, and which foot was one the ground. She could tell if he was exhaling or inhaling.

The first wolf leaps and she uses all her strength to bat him in the stomach with the stick.

A whine leaves the wolf’s mouth as it hits the ground but Rey doesn’t stop as the next one leaps forward. She starts hitting the wolves where she can as they circle her. Their paws getting smacked if stepped out of line, or their nose getting crushed by the sweeping stick.

She moved fluidly like the snow swarming the fight. It kept them at bay but it they slowly spread out making it hard for her to deal with all of them. One wolf that had started to flank her had abandoning her gut instinct, if that’s even what she could call it, and her eyes opened to follow his movements with her peripherals. The wolf leapt forward just as another she wasn’t paying attention to followed suite but disappears a foot away from Rey’s back.

Rey’s staff catches the bite the wolf had intended for her neck. It’s bite had halted but it’s body still landed hard against her chest and shoved her against the ground. It’s claws dug deep against her bare shoulders and making blood trickle from each wound.

Rey fought hard to keep the wolf’s snapping teeth away from her neck and face as it chewed on the stick. It was stronger than her and wiped it’s wet nose against her face a few times but the staff saved her despite her lungs being crushed by the wolf’s weight. It finally let go of the staff and tried another lunge for her neck. 

A choked screech leaves Rey’s mouth as she thrusts hard to get the staff back into the wolf’s mouth. The staff shatters under the wolf’s bite, and splinters rain onto Rey’s face as the wolf goes for another bite. Rey screams wheezing in surprise but slams the broken piece of wood into the side of the wolf’s head to stop it.

It stops only momentarily before it’s lunging directly for Rey’s neck. Rey throws her arms up and tries to push the wolf back with her eyes jamming close.

Air rushes into her lungs when the weight is lifted off of her chest. The teeth scraping against her arms are just that, a scrape. They never connect fully with her flesh. Her good eye snaps open and she rolls over onto her arm to see his cloaked figure wrestling over the wolf. Rey’s heart starts beating rapidly at seeing the flash of teeth from the wolf, and sharp claws that caused her shoulder such pain. Panting, she scrambles up and grabs the longest piece of her staff to fight with.

The wolf escapes and glances between the two before landing his yellow eyes on her. The Beast leans over and growls something animalistic from low in his throat. Rey assumes it’s for the wolf until she sees his red eyes on her as he leaps. Her staff comes up and hits him across the face just as she had done with the wolves. Pain blooms faintly in the back of mind as his head barely even budges. His arms wraps around her nonetheless as he guides her to the ground.

Another weight is added to their pile and Rey is struggling to breath before the Beast rolls, and takes the wolf that had lunged for Rey with him. A roar leaves the Beast into the face of the wolf. It startles Rey how animalistic he looked with his eyes burning, canines bare to the world, and roaring like a lion asserting himself. His arm pins down the wolf as it whimpers at the Beast’s roar. It leaps forward to viciously bite the Beast’s arm and tries to roll towards Rey again.

The Beast grabs the wolf and rolls away with him again but the wolf ends up on top. The Beast’s arm reaches up to encircle the wolf’s neck as the wolf leaps for the Beast’s neck.

A dull crack is heard and both of the fighting beasts go limp. Rey wants to stop and check on him but three remaining wolves growl behind her. She turns in her power stance, defensive of herself and what could possibly be an injured Beast.

A familiar ghost touches her mind that is like engulfs her mind without taking over it. She relaxes into the touch mentally but her physical form doesn’t lessen in strength.

_Please_ , the word duly begs in her mind and she relents with only a hint of hesitation. It feels as if nothing has changed but relief twangs against her.

The ghost melds into one with her mind and she once again feels no difference until she is painlessly moving forward with the shadow next to her. A shadow that is unrelenting and reckless with it’s fight as it lunges with her.

He tackles another wolf as she collides her staff with the remaining two wolves. She aches, and slips with in her blood but then that difference becomes clear. She is dancing with a baton. She is tossing it between him and herself. It’s so fluid she almost doesn’t notice it. She is taking note where his fight is and relaying her points. Every paw movement was hers. Every snarl was his. Every bite was theirs. Anything her eyes picked up whether he _saw_ them or not, they knew. 

They pain dulled underneath this connection. He soothed her wounds with a worrying wave that burst into anger. Anger pulsed through her and she could feel it. She didn’t flinch. She knew with utmost certainty that it wasn’t for her. She pitied the animals it was for.

She subdued one wolf with a final kick that it into a tree. A warning hiss in her mind had her spinning around with a fully powered swing from her staff that connects with a staff shattering crack against the wolf’s skull. It freezes and rolls it’s eyes as it goes limp.

The staff drops from Rey’s hands when the wolf collapses with her following it to the ground. Pants leave her breathe as exhaustion swarms her. Slow blinks are all she can manage now as sweat drips down her body to accompany her snow soaked bloody clothes. She wraps her arms around herself as her knees sink into the snow. She curls in on herself, and unties the leather thong from her hair to finally warm her neck.

Her eyes sweep over to his presence and she notes his limp as he stands over the wolf that he hadn’t shown mercy. Rey’s wolves all had limped away or would eventually wake up again. His would never wake.

The Beast turns away from the wolf and stumbles to Rey. She flinches fearfully away from him causing him to stop and slow down before collapsing into the snow. The snow instantly became sprayed with red. Rey scrambles up with a dismayed yell escaping her lips, “Beast!”

She kneels by him and carefully rolls him over onto his back. The Beast’s cloak opens to reveal his bare chest littered with scratches and cuts. Rey’s eyes widen as best they could in her condition as she starts ripping at her arm wraps to use them to stop the bleeding. A claw hand gently wraps around wrist to stop her.

Rey glances up the arm in amazement. The Beast reaches into his cloak and pulls out another. Rey squints at it but her vision is too blurred to tell what it is. He relies heavily on his uninjured arm as he unfurls the cloak, _her cloak_ , and drapes it around her shoulders before collapsing in the snow again.

Artoo trots up behind them as Rey finally gets a good look at the Beast. The pain from both of them finally thrums between the two. Her face hurt but what was new about that? Except she didn’t break her nose, so he must’ve. Her eyes flicker to his face and she weakly stares.

“I’m so sorry.” She haggardly mutters, as she brings her hand up to touch his face. His hand engulfed hers to stops her. His exhausted red eyes contemplate her concerned gaze. She tries to pull her hand back but he doesn’t let go. He simply looks at her and lets her gaze wander seeing as that was all he could do.

A large wound ran from his temple across his face and to his chin that her hit had given him. It would scar; there was no doubt.

“I’m sorry.” She says again, and the sincerity has him dropping her hand with a minute shake of his head. 

His eyes glance her over, and he notices her teetering. He reaches for her but she swats his hands away. She pushes herself off the snow with a bit of force from her legs. The sudden standing causes her to sway as the blood rushes from her head. Her eyes roll as she drops forward to hold onto Artoo. 

Her shivering comes around full force. The Beast could not only hear her muscles shivering, and teeth chattering but he could feel the echo of it in his mind. He couldn’t 

When she gets her bearings, she reaches down to grab his plaint wrist and waist. Her delicate palm brushing against his wrist distracts him as he notes her warmth or lack thereof. 

The Beast’s hand comes up to her waist and he fights everything in him to lean into her side. She stops and contemplates Artoo with a huff before she clicks her tongue. Artoo kneels under her instruction. The Beast connects what she was doing but can’t stop her as she nudges him forward.

He couldn’t ride Artoo when she could barely hold herself up. Her hand from his wrist releases him to go for his chin. She tilts it towards her and contemplates him with hard gaze. He doesn’t relent despite his exhaustion badgering him too. The tips of her finger brush delicately across his face. They would linger here and there but would mostly kiss the wound she gave him. It had him like putty in her hands.

He nearly groans. If he let them stay like this, they might as well just take bets on who was going to bleed out or freeze first. The Beast searches her mind and finds the silken cord of exhaustion that he would have to pull for her to finally just succumb to the sleep.

He hesitates to pull it, knowing she would want him out of her bright mind and soon as she woke. Her mind was intoxicating him like a calm in the eye of a storm. He felt no pain. He just wanted to stand here and let her touch his wounds but he knew if she were to survive, the trust would have to be broken.

He closes his eyes to her shining curious hazel eyes. Her touch immediately dances over his eyes, and he nearly chokes at the feeling but he firmly grasps the silken rope. As he was going to pull it, he falls limp in Rey’s arms. Rey struggles to hold all his weight but she relinquishes his silken rope that she had reached for in his mind.

“Stubborn Beast.” She murmurs as she jostles him back to get a better grip on him. She could feel his blood dripping down her back from his arm. Her fingers were coated in his blood from her deceitful calming strokes. It made it hard for to shoulder him especially with the four claw wounds on either side of her chest but she pushed through.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not Beta'd once again because my precious beta's computer is still broken

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is now beta'd by the ever lovely, tfwfangirlsatk! You can check her out on tumblr under the same URL.
> 
> My tumblr is now forcetrash.tumblr.com


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